Something Wicked
by Gilded Blue
Summary: Something evil has existed inside of Son Gokou for a very long time. When it suddenly awakens, relying on nothing but instinct, madness and lust, he makes his presence known by abducting Vegeta's precious daughter. He's got his prince's attention.
1. Part One

**Something Wicked**

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_The stars, they whispered such sweet sights, a million brilliant diamonds showering the sleeping world with their radiant glow. It was a night where the moon was whole and huge and the sensuous tranquility of the occasional summer breeze lightly kissed those lucky enough to be stirring in the twilight. The indolent sun had slipped to hide under the horizon hours before. The balance was finally perfect. He stood, there in the lush darkness, and only his keen sight could perceive when the time was right to move through the sky that was like black milk, cool and luscious. _

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* * *

_

The insipid child thought that stepping back, slowly at first so not to provoke a pounce, would save her from assured abduction. Her eyes were huge, staring straight at his inscrutable smile as if were a car wreck. She didn't _want _to look at him, but acrimoniously did. The devious way his lips curled was almost hypnotizing, and all the while lips were shaking, quivering. So spell bound was she, that when her back finally bumped against the textured hardness of her wall after slow, timid movements back, she jumped. The second her naked back brushed against the unfeeling wall, hope faded slowly slid into oblivion and everything became real.

The muffled throb emitted from the faint contact seemed loud enough to wake the dead to her, because the dull clop jerked her into the position of a desperately beautiful trapped animal, waiting painfully to be assaulted. She let out a low moan, loathing the barrier that prevented her escape, which incidentally allowed him to come closer, closer. So very close that she could feel his warm breath and hear the low growls in his throat, so close that the charmingly oblique grin of his and the amused look in his eyes and his handsome face almost touched her own, distorted in fear.

The pert expression that the leering man wore was a knife that twisted in her gut, and the visible blood that seeped out was her courage and nerve. It was fear that drained the color from her face, fear that caused her to noisily sob in a feverish panic, fear that possessed her body so that all she could do was spasmodically shake, fear that made her eyes water and dazzle as he approached.

"Uncle..."

She couldn't bring herself to finish though his black eyes willed her to. No, the air was too daunting and cut her off short, stole the words from her tongue, all because it was all too unfitting that she calls him by _that _name. The malicious beast that lethargically moved in slow, cool motions was no longer the man he was before and she could not allow herself to recognize him as that even though it was the same host, the same body, some amorphous being must've taken over him, because it was no longer the gentle and munificent man that had been welcome in her household since before her birth that stood before her.

She dizzily leaned against the wall, painted a pale blue but unseen in the darkness. His massive arms pulled her roughly against his chest. He'd been expecting more of a fight from the defiant girl, her beautiful skin struck by a case of pallor, and tugged without measuring his strength. She made a soft, "_Oh..." _

Her feet tried to drag it out, but he possessed her movement easily. Of course to him, it was so obvious he _would _have his way that it was tangible. One foot slowly in front of the other, seconds passing and the only thing that kept her head up was the fact that his eyes were almost magnetic; they _commanded _her to stare in the intense blackness. His hand was warm, both massive enough to hold both wrists at once. He began to stroke her arm slowly in admiration until the magician felt the edge of the bed pressing against the back of his legs. He sat, forcing her to lean over slightly, trembling, trembling, but his grasp did not subside and her hands were still crushed to his chest.

She put all her weight on her knee, forced to climb over him. The girl tried to protest, even in shock and in the midst of sheer petrification and terror she leaned back to pull herself from him. But her feet followed her arms without the physical space to kick and too afraid to scream, and yet... and yet...

It couldn't be so; it all seemed so surreal, so dream-like that she could not find the reaction that would expunge her from the situation. She was sure that it was all so bizarre that she could just open her eyes, and her room would once again be a sacred realm where she could dream soft dreams of love and romance that all girls would, where she was safe under a blanket of darkness.

A cold sense of disgust washed over her, and the abrupt change in mood surprised him so much that his hold on her let just one hand slide out. On impulse, her hand raised and moved over his face with swift calm. He was uninjured and she could see even in the darkness the white of his sharp teeth when he grinned, amused and challenged. She leaned back a bit, eyes wide and clearly full of terror. He looped one arm around her waist. Shaking her head profusely, she managed one final entreaty in short coughs, "I...I didn't..."

Hands seemed to slide easily through her hair, aqua locks so silky that he looked at his hand for a moment in a bit of disbelief. He was disappointed, he's expected more of a fight from her, but the fear got so deep within her skin, deep as he wanted to be, that it murdered her sense and ability to process the fact that the situation was very much a real one. "I didn't mean to..." She choked out, "Please... stop."

* * *

_Bura stared at the door with burning eyes. Another boyfriend. Another one. "'Bra-Chan...'" She whispered, mimicking his voice, but her misery was so very apparent... "'It just... it can't work out, Bura. To be honest, I don't even like you.'" The girl stared at her mirror. Was she not beautiful? Did she joke too often, or was it that she did not often enough? What was this huge flaw that she found? _

_Breathing was hard when you hurt this badly, and with a shaking, angry voice, the princess hissed, "'To be honest...'" She quoted, her throat thick and full of emotion, "'You're a bitch.'" _

_Saint Valentine's day was coming up. Another boyfriend. Another one. _

_She was beautiful when she was younger. And then they happened. And then they... One after another, they came, they smiled, they held her and they touched her, and they... and they... _

_"You're crying." It was a low voice. Calm, reserved, and yet concerned._

_She jumped at the voice, looking around. The informative purr could not have been real, but her head tilted from side to side to spite the fear of insanity when she looked to the closed door, the closed window, but she could feel footsteps. She could feel them, "Who is...?"_

_"Shh, shh... calm down. He wasn't worthy of you. He was just a little boy that couldn't handle other guys looking at what he knew would never honestly be his." Concerned, that's what he was. The soft purr echoed throughout her room, almost lulling her. She sat mystified, too shocked to be afraid, too afraid to be irrational, and too irrational to run while she still had the chance. _

_The bitter and even… jealous words he simply spat almost calmed her. She sat on her bed, curious, shocked, and the voice, this dark, soothing voice dimmed the room._

_Darker._

_Darker._

_Pitch black._

_And a pair of arms, sweet and gentle arms wrapped around her._

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"But you did..." His voice was a snake. His hands were on her hips, traveling, down, down...

She sobbed against his chest, shaking her head violently. "Why are you doing this?" She hoarsely asked. He looked down at her, eloquent and coy, enjoying the physical contact from her protest, but he frowned a bit. She tried to pull away from his steel-like grasp, but he only held on all the more.

"Now..." A gentle tone, a soothing tone, softly condescending, "Does that really matter, Princess?"

"Don't call me that! Don't use pet names on me like you did when I was six!" She cringed. Her mind was shrieking that this was wrong, and it was so, so very wrong.

But his voice stayed calm, amused, easy, and yet stern, "You told me this was what you wanted, Bura."

* * *

_She closed her eyes, sighing against his chest. His magic was incredible, whatever it was. "Who are you?"_

_"Now..." He whispered against her ear, something about his voice was so seductive, the gentle purr sends shocks as effective down her legs as his hands... "That doesn't really matter, does it?" _

_His hands, God, his hands, they were fire and they did so much. So much. _

_"Little boys. They thought they could have you..." He murmured. "You're beautiful."_

_She stopped. Her eyes watered. She turned her head, bitter, and so stupid that she could so simply hand herself to him, that she actually half-way believed it was a dream, it was so very unreal, unlikely, that she let him touch her, "I'm not."_

_"Oh," He held her chin in his hands, calm, calm, "But you are. Who told you that you weren't? That fool you were crying over? You'll never have to worry about him plaguing the world with his pitiful excuse for an existence again."_

_"Wha-" She tried to turn around, but his hands, they were so large, and they were pulling her towards her mirror._

_He pulled at her dress and she stood in bra and panties against the soft fabrics of his clothes. His arms folded around her, "Look. You're so beautiful when you smile. So beautiful when you're smiling for me."_

_She tried to see what he saw, but she shook her head. "No. I can't see it."_

_"Do you want this?" He nuzzled her ear; she was insanely close to this boy, this man, her stranger in the dark, so much like a dream, it seemed unreal that she had to trust what could have only been herself... _

_"Yes..." She wanted to feel beautiful. His words were so kind. And then she saw the light._

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_

His hands, the same ones she loved so much only moments before were wiping her frightened tears away. The lips she let kiss her were brushing the tears away.

But instead, they only made more come.

"So you killed him? Why?" She tore her head to the side.

Rich, soft laughter, "He hurt you. He hurt you because he wanted you. They all did it. To kill your self-esteem so you wouldn't become a vixen and drag them along by their own desires. But they didn't trust each other, you see..."

"You're talking in nonsense."

"No, no, you see, _they _were the ones that were stupid. And I watched. For so, so long. And I became angry. I _had _to intervene on your behalf. They almost broke your spirit, but you got up in the morning, didn't you? My girl, always so strong and proud as per expectation. And yet tonight… it was the final disgrace. And they are alone in hell while you..." His hand traced her jaw, "You're with me."

"You killed... they were innocent..." She whispered.

"I killed a lot of people." His voice was so cool. "And we have a visitor."

"**Kakarotto!"**

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_She screamed, but his hand flew to rest on her lips. _

_"What's wrong? What's wrong?"_

_"Gokou..." She whispered. That man. The man she'd once loved, her 'Uncle Carrot', had almost turned her into the woman she wished his skilled hands would have._

_He looked at her, as if he were innocent. Like this was really a rather light matter, as if he didn't understand, "You..." His hand curled around her arm. "You're so thin. And weak."_

_Her body began to shake._

_"Why didn't Vegeta train you? I guess it's you that will have to pay for his foolishness. Not that he wouldn't have passed his own weaknesses and inadequacies over to you, but I mean, some instruction seems rather necessary. I so easily forget my strength. You drive me wild."_

_The insipid child thought that stepping back, slowly at first so not to provoke a pounce, would save her from assured abduction. Her eyes were huge, staring straight at his inscrutable smile as if were a car wreck. She didn't want to look at him, but acrimoniously did. The devious way his lips curled was almost hypnotizing, and all the while lips were shaking, quivering. So spell bound was she, that when her back finally bumped against the textured hardness of her wall after slow, timid movements back, she jumped. The second her naked back brushed against the unfeeling wall, hope faded slowly slid into oblivion and everything became real. _

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_

Gokou smiled at his rival, his friend. "I was waiting for you." He yawned, a little rude and a little obnoxious, "What took you so long? Just what type of father are you anyway?"

Vegeta looked at his Bura, his eyes shut closed with an inward sigh, for he could not risk a fight, not with her delicate life hanging in the balance. There was no time to care what had happened, none at all, what was happening was far too obvious to care, and in a stern threat, Vegeta growled, slow and menacing, "Get away from her."

"But she rather wants to stay." Gokou kissed her forehead. She looked up at him with teary eyes. The men could smell her fear. "No need for that. Tell your father that you want to stay."

"Bura, get out of the bed."

"Yes," Gokou grinned, and the arms that pulled her to his chest left. His hand raised in a threatening position towards Vegeta, a ki blast forming quick and bright and furious and powerful, "Go on. Get out."

"No!" She blindly grabbed his arm, pulled it down back against her thigh and shrieked in pain. The agony and excruciating energy hissed against her skin, but oh, she knew, she knew so very well that he would've killed her father anyway.

Gokou blinked at the fluid action. Even he hadn't expected her to be _stupid_. He hadn't gathered much energy, but the gash was deep and she could barely stifle whines. She shook, and with an accusing finger towards Vegeta, he hissed, "Look at what you've made her do!" Gokou stared at the father in rage.

Vegeta's fists were curled into balls and he was ready to launch an attack on Gokou while he was still slightly distracted. The sound of his daughter's voice floating in the darkness pulled him into a quick halt.

"Daddy, no!" Vegeta looked at his daughter straight in the eyes. Gokou's smile turned wide and wide and wider. She looked at him, and then back to her father, and then down at the blood seeping onto her sheets. She could not be responsible for anyone else getting hurt. Slowly, as if trying out the words on her tongue, Bra said in a hoarse whisper, "I want to stay with him."

Both men turned their attention to the girl, eyes wide. She was in pain. She was scared. But she knew when he so gently pulled her back into his arms, avoiding her leg that he would not hurt her if she cooperated.

As for her father...

"What was that, Princess?" Gokou tilted her chin up. Vegeta flinched at the sight.

"I want to stay with you. Now, don't hurt him." Her eyes were wide and soulful and true.

Gokou smiled, a sick smile, and Vegeta stared in horror.

"No! Bura, _don't_!"

But Gokou had already accepted the deal. "If you follow us, I won't be gentle, and then I'll kill her, _and I will make you watch every minute._"

Bura looked at him, wide-eyed and in horror. Gokou grabbed Bura's waist and the two faded away an instant, Vegeta was left to stand in fury. With a growl, something like an animal in agony, emitted deep from his throat, Vegeta threw her mirror to the ground. It shattered into a million pieces and he looked at himself in the mirror. Including his experiences with Frieza, the white devil, he'd never felt so powerless, he'd never felt such hatred.

* * *

"Where are we?" He smiled at the way her voice shivered; at the way she didn't seem to know quite how to address him or where she stood.

"Home." He said simply, and then, "Lay down. We need to take care of that."

She sat up, but he gently sent her down again. With a smile, he left the room without having to tell her that if she left her father would be the one that had to pay. She hated him. He was a murderer. He was... he was...

The sensuous drowsiness of the night took over and she closed her eyes upon hearing the muffled murmurs. Gokou was talking to someone. There was fear, much fear, but her heart was a weight and she could not move.

The door opened and Bura tilted her head up. ChiChi stared at her, "My God... That looks horrible, Bura."

Bra felt the world was slowing and she was going mad as she focused on the cold pouring of alcohol, the sharp and unwelcome stings as she sat, staring at Gokou while he pretended to be only interested in her healing. In reality, he sat devouring her with his eyes. The lecherous glances he would shoot her from behind ChiChi's back made her cringe. "Thank God Gokou was there." Oh, maternal and loving Son ChiChi.

Bura laughed. She couldn't help it. The insane bubbles of giggles let out and she laughed. Thank God Gokou was there. Gokou that tried to-and was going to rape her, Gokou that threatened-and was probably going to kill her father. Gokou, that murdered her ex-boyfriends and told her father that he would rape her before his eyes, why yes, she was so lucky that he'd come into her room.

Her fit stopped eventually and left her side aching, but ChiChi was too smart to ever suspect what had actually happened. The bandage was on and she was tired. Apparently Chi thought someone attempted to rape her, and God just happened to have Gokou notice it and play the vigilant, noble hero once again. The story fit and before Bura could protest, ChiChi'd left Gokou alone with Bura.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I'll have something more suiting for us later on, I promise." He purred, sliding at her side. He leaned over and his teeth brushed against her ear, she shivered and closed her eyes so tight the tears streamed down, "And what's this?" Gokou frowned, inspecting her face with tender fingertips. "Why is the princess crying?" And then a smile, "You're just jealous of ChiChi, aren't you? Well, don't worry, Sweetheart. She means absolutely nothing to me, you have my full attention."

"You're _insane_."

"And you're petrified." He observed, sighing. "I'd so hoped you would understand, even enjoy this, but I guess your foolish human side prevents you from comprehending something so simple." Gokou shook his head and poked at the girl until she was sitting up, where his hands could slowly move in gentle circles over her back, "I think I have displayed an outstanding amount of patience with you..." His voice trailed off, as if at some point he truly believed words to be pointless and _action _to be the preferable method of communication.

"I'm not having sex with you!" She shivered against his hands, "Stop it!"

"But think of the things I could _do _to you." He smiled against her ear. The skin on the back of her neck prickled.

"You're out of your mind, Gokou..."

"And you're trembling with eagerness! Do you want me to force you," He growled, aggravated, "to do **exactly **what you would've done with **them?" **His voice hardened, and she was on her back. He sat over her, grasping her hands, "Do you think you are so special that I would just let you go?" He laughed. He threw his head back and he laughed, "To those little fools that wanted to rape you and leave you to die?"

And she _was _trembling with eagerness. In the pit of her abdomen, softly yearning between her thighs, the effect of calloused hands brushing against virgin breasts, and when he rested his knuckles against her jaw, his thumb free to give feather like touches that followed the veins of her neck, her back stiffened as if it were a wooden board as primal instinct insisted something dangerous was touching a necessary and fragile area—but she liked it. She liked the lulling motion of his hand, up and down, she liked the weight of his body on hers, up and down, she liked that he sought to please only himself by driving her mad up and down, up and down.

When she was calm, he followed lower contently, not with his hands that, he bitterly noted, seemed all that were welcome. No, he would show her she was a silly little girl, before she had never understood what _he _could _do _to her with a vivacious tongue, unmerciful , only with the great desire for self-gain, venturing slowly, down, down, and he could feel the dead excitement in her stomach and the hitch of her breath.

Bura shifted under his touch, but stopped paying attention to _her. _After the first sign of desire, in his eyes she was very much his, and it was her body that he now explored. The voyage was as if through the Elysian Fields, an eerie sort of heaven where all that mattered was the taste of her skin, the light layer of sweat-fear or because of the lusty air, he wasn't sure, didn't care, but the taste of her from the inside, that was what mattered.

Her head was tilted back, and her legs did not know what to do. Her body took over her mind, her emotions slowly numbed and faded into a temporary abyss, because he had quite perfectly stressed what he wanted to—a sample of the things he could do to her. His tongue slithered from one warm, smooth delicacy of flesh area that had never before been touched by another man to another "Wrong..." She choked, "This is wrong."

Gokou looked towards Bura from her legs. He'd been sitting on his feet, but sat up with his palms on either side of her hips, levitating his body over hers, and he smiled his charming smile. His head bent to press his lips against hers for one, two, three seconds and when he lifted it his eyes willed her to behave. Her fingertips, her swollen breasts and the physical pain that was caused by crisp desire, it was oh so hard to remember he was old enough to be her grandfather, that he was married and his youngest son was too old for her, that he was no longer Son Gokou. The bizarre state of mind was ever so intriguing though, tantalizing, that she found without allowing herself, she was tracing his jaw with shocked curiosity, his perfect face, his sharp nose and wild hair.

Her fingers did not know any better, they flinched downward ever so slightly, but he felt it and complied, and she rested her lips on his for a delayed beat, familiarizing herself with the feel, before her mouth parted over his closed and she could taste what was inside of her. And he moved his face up with a fiendish grin that she finally returned, and he moved back lazily like a lion moving over his prey, patient, yet possessive with a combination of long strides of the tongue, and short flicks against her most vulnerable areas, her arms could not reach to pull him back if she wanted to.

He laughed softly when the shivers of her legs turned to slight kicks, "You don't like to be teased, do you?" Oh, she was already breathing raggedly and he'd just started. He moved to kiss the insides of her thighs, suckling slightly against the skin, perverse and amused that she was so inexperienced, even her primal instinct could not tell her what to do or how to react, and she awkwardly, shyly, lay as he defiled her body, with no chance to return the favor as teen magazines would've told her she should have.

He liked the doll-like manner, the thought of the ability to teach her to come to peace with her body, to let her take her risks, and all the while she could be everything, anything for him. She could be a dead body he could simply _fuck _for the Hell of it, she could be his China doll, delicate and fragile, his princess to cleanse of purity, his lover to share intimacy of the body, or of the mind, especially of the mind, she could be his vixen, even eventually, but whatever she was she was _his_.

Love? What of such silly, foolish things? He had the most beautiful female in existence under him, he stole her virginity, when her pride finally crashed and fell off the shaking ladder it was placed on and she was through with the teasing, through feeling his bushy hair brush against her from time to time while his mouth would do one thing to her and his hands would do ten other things to her. It was so extreme that her face was red and she finally let out the fateful gasp, "Please..."

He was inspecting the curves of her legs, and looked up, bored, waiting for her to clarify, "Hmn?"

"Stop!" She hissed, gasping for breath and release all at once, "Just stop it."

"But I thought you said we weren't going to have sex." His voice was an innocent hiss, sarcastic and even somewhat annoyed, tapping his fingers deliberately against her bikini line. "If I recall, I am a sick, insane pedophile, and a very, very bad man."

"I thought you asked me if I wanted this." She returned with anger, "And I-please."

She felt the groan deep in her throat but did not allow it to escape. She didn't know why. Fear of ChiChi? Because if ChiChi was even still alive she would not have already heard them? Why would she be protecting him? Fear of being thought weak—yes, that was it. He was superior size, strength, sexual knowledge, but she was not going to be _weak _in his eyes and he saw it, he read her clearly and he admired her strength.

Bura closed her eyes, breathing a bit to assuage the pain, and he kept his promise—Gokou, twisted and evil as he was, was gentle. It was more than unpleasant, at first. Then, the pain numbed and there was a sensation that she could not describe, but it sent little tickles, little flames of pleasure, little at first, through her body. He, his stone chest with a slight layer of sweat, his determined eyes, he was so big, but there was a tinge...

Something in the pit of her stomach, crawling slowly like a spider, inside her veins, the second that he entered, something wrapped around her heart and possessed her, and when the pain subsided, she found she wanted more, and more, and faster, and harder, and she didn't even _need _him to be gentle on her. He almost seemed proud that she accepted him so easily, and let the potential strength her more pure Saiya-Jin side provided her with, even though mixed with the dirty blood of the Humans, it was royal; it was stronger and thicker and all he had to do was wake his princess up.

Oh, how well his plan had worked! There was something wicked in his eyes when she saw him in the light, and that, in all truth, not the fact that he was her father's "best friend" or the fact that he was so much older, not the fact that he was married with children, and upon seeing that her Human side retched in fear. Her Saiya-Jin side didn't care about ChiChi, they were not mated in an appropriate way anyway, it didn't care about Goten, in fact it realized that the only reason her Human portion was attracted to Goten was purely because of her rooted attraction to him, the Saiya-Jin side didn't care about age, they were superior, built to live longer, it was no abnormality among the more sophisticated races that a young girl and an older man would be mated, that something wicked in her eyes scared her, because it reminded her Human blood of its mortality, that she was its perfect match.

When he entered, it wrapped around her heart, possessed her and rooted itself within her, in the pit of her stomach, crawling slowly, slowly like a spider, inside her veins or within her thighs, it controlled her breath and demanded more intimacy with her mate, something wicked.

* * *

-CL


	2. Part Two

**Something Wicked**

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**_Moonlight. That was all she really remembered. She remembered it was a beautiful night, warm and sweet, when he had her sit. She'd thought it was good, she was so very happy, it was almost as if she'd been dancing through the trees and on top of the water, in her head and in her heart and she was carried, lost in the rhythm. The trees whispered in the evening, a million sensations inside her mind. Of course, eventually she had to wake up._

_

* * *

_

The indolent night sky finally falls prey to the sun's blazing tyranny and the day began. He tilted his head up to yawn at the window, but instead the cheery brightness offended his victory the previous night.

She, at his side, shot to consciousness with eyes all red and frantic breath, Bura could only stare at her naked body, once taken, but oh, she knew, something Saiya-Jin inside her knew it only took once. Revulsion twisted her expression, and she stared at him, slowly inching her hips away, her palms slowly aiding her to the edge of the bed, but all the while, she was shaking her head, "You're... old enough to be my grandfather."

Gokou sat up, sighing against the bed post of the bed that he shared with his wife, by Human ritual, at least. His bare chest was handsome, his entire manner was handsome, at that, but he was obnoxious too in the way brushed the comment off his shoulder, "Gee, how long did we sleep? It's so bright outside. It's gotta be at least noon."

"You **raped** me!" Bura exclaimed, slamming her fist against the firm, old mattress to punctuate her rage. There was no more fear, but defiance that allowed her to forget anything or _anyone _that Gokou could've been holding over her head.

In his own way he preferred this, he found her to be so much more amusing when she was shouting at him and commanding him about than when she was frightened and weepy-eyed. His eyes lowered to meet hers, as if bored and looking over a newspaper with skeptical, annoyed blackness, "_Darling_, you can't rape the _willing_."

This couldn't be happening! Bura yanked at the sheets to cover the naked body Gokou was so indulgent as to allow himself the liberty of devouring with his eyes. Of course, she failed to notice it was the only blanket they hadn't somehow pushed off the bed. Upon grasping it, to her embarrassment, she completely uncovered Gokou.

Amusement danced in his black eyes as he watched his radiant princess fall off the bed with a yelp. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow; she was a funny little thing, scrambling to her feet, throwing one of the other discarded blankets over his body that she most obviously didn't mind seeing. His teeth glint an evil white, "Hey, why would you do a thing like that? It's okay—you can look."

Bura trembled as she began to fill with emotion and confusion, "You..." She seemed to be groping for offenses to throw at him, she could've shouted a million different things, but all her mind could say to sum up everything in a graceful collection of language was, "You're Gokou!"

"I'm glad to see you remember at least that much." He sourly noted. Tilting his head up, he sighed in anticipation. With a clap of the hands, a grin was placed on his soft lips, "Well! I wonder if Chi left anything for breakfast. You didn't even think to thank me for getting her out of our way."

"Oh, God!" Bura moaned, rubbing her head. "You didn't…" Oh yes, yes, that felt nice, yes, yes, the stress was just floating away, yes, a little harder on the shoulders please, yes, this was all a horrid dream, yes, that's wonderful-

Gokou leered at the girl from behind, "See?"

She squeaked, "You're out of your mind... Let me go!" She shrugged him off, clinging to the blankets wrapped around her body with delicate fists.

"I don't see why you're acting this way, Bura." His eyes were wide and innocent as he fixed them on her.

Bura shook her head, half in disbelief and half to convey her rejection of him entirely. "You **raped** me! How did you expect me to act?"

Gokou rolled his eyes, "For one, I did not _rape _you; I _seduced _you fair and square."

"You're a pedophile!" She was speaking on impulse, yelling to yell, just trying to make sense of everything.

It was at this moment that he considered how like her mother she really could be, stating obvious or otherwise futile things in that shrill tone. "Why, Bra!" He pretended to look hurt. "Now that's a bit harsh." Gokou frowned in disgust, "Ask any man on the street and he'd think you were at least in your twenties."

"You're really not feeling bad enough about this." Bura spun around and pointed an accusing finger at him, "You killed my boyfriend!" She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back to him.

"And a few of your other ex-boyfriends, too." He amended calmly, taking a step towards her. His hands were on her shoulders. They were massive as they were warm but Bura felt chills.

"Oh, God... Not Goten, too..." She whispered, sitting on the bed as she wrenched her body away from him. It just came to her, abrupt and painful; it suddenly occurred to her that they were really... She gulped. She didn't know if she could think it. "They're all dead. You... you killed them."

"Yes, and then we had sex." Goku said, dryly. "But no, I didn't kill the squirt." With another grin, he said, "I'm not a monster, Bura."

She shook her head, "No, no, no... You don't understand... I loved him, and then you... you killed..."

"Bra, Honey," He said very gently, trying to touch her once more, this time at the small of her back. He scooted closer to her, rather obnoxiously, when she leaned away. "What you're going through right now is just a little bit of shock." And then he shrugged, "You'll get over it."

"I..." She growled, turning to face him. He'd recognized the rage in the eyes of many women before, namely Bulma and Chichi, but her chest rising and falling as she looked like she was preparing to gouge his eyes out and then castrate him had a different sort of edge. He almost purred, just leaning back, watching her to see how far she'd get.

"You know, your _Daddy _can't protect you, Sweetheart. He didn't even really put up that much of a fight. You are mated to _me_ now," He smiled, "and you are no longer any of his concern. So you might as well stop whining and enjoy yourself. You gave in last night; I don't see why it's suddenly a big deal. You're acting like a child." He chided, sighing.

"You murdered my boyfriend!"

"You can be such a broken record. What do you want me to do? Look, I'll take you shopping. You want to go shopping? Will that shut you up?"

"I'm leaving now. Goodbye." She turned, sheet and all, and he shrugged, watching her leave. As she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking a breath and closing her eyes, she really thought it to be that easy.

* * *

"Babe, what's wrong?" Goten stared at her in confusion. He'd come back the minute he heard Bura was abducted and was resting at his house. He tried to contact Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunk, his efforts largely proving to be useless. With sympathy, Goten watched her. "Stupid question." He sighed, wrapping an arm around her. Still he felt surprised when she flinched at his touch. He in his own way expected that she would see him as something of a safe haven. Call it arrogance. Maybe she liked that in her men, though. Vegeta was, after all, cocky as you could get. She'd been crying, she looked terrified, upset, "I just heard, about everything, are you okay?"

She sniffled against his chest, shaking her chest wildly, "He killed them. He killed all of them."

Goten frowned, letting his hand come to rest over the back of her head, taking in the scent of her hair and the way that it felt, "What? Bura, are you... maybe you should sit down."

"I just want to go home." She said, shaking her head wildly against him. His body was warm. She was sick of the warmth of the Son men.

"Hey... it's so weird, and you're not going to believe me, but they aren't there. Mom went over earlier, and I've tried calling all day. We can't contact any of them."

"And that doesn't seem suspicious at all? Are you all crazy? Is your faith in him that blind?" She asked, her pitch rising with her temper, "I've walked out of your parents' bedroom with nothing but a sheet covering me and all of my ex-boyfriends probably didn't go to school today, except you. And they won't go to school tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that. You know why? Because they are dead! Gokou killed them."

Goten stared at Bura, leading her to a chair. He absentmindedly stroked her hair as he attempted to assess the situation, Bra's mental state, and the mystery of Bulma and Vegeta's silence. Okay, so she'd been raped. His father found her, and now she was just a little out of her mind. Pity for her surged in his chest, she must have been through an awful lot to come to such awful conclusions about his dad. "Bura, I haven't heard anything about boys being absent. Don't you think if all of their little gang, and I know you've dated them all, were absent they would take some sort of note of it?"

"Would they call you up to announce it to you? Would they put it on the morning news?" She asked with her eyes narrowing as they fixed on her ex-boyfriend. This was the absolute worst, no one believed her. Who would think, anyway, that Son Gokou would have succumbed to something evil inside of him, taken her in the middle of the night, and killed all of the boys she ever knew or loved.

"_If_ they were dead," He calmly clarified, trying to soothe the girl, "Then obviously it follows that they didn't come home. Wouldn't their parents report that?"

"I didn't go home last night. My parents didn't report it." She shot back. Her mind was reeling. So loud was it within her skull she felt completely inactive.

"Well," Goten stuttered, "Dad probably contacted them. You know him."

"Oh, I thought I did!" She sighed, leaning against the table. "Please... Just go. I want to be alone right now. Make sure no one, especially not Gokou, sees me. Actually I want to go home. Can you take me home?"

Goten sighed, shaking his head a little, "I'm afraid I can't. I have to go in to work soon, Bra, otherwise you know I would. Do you want to go lay down in my room, Princess?"

"Yes... yes..."

Poor Goten! Who could blame him? He only had faith in the savior of the planet, how many times over? After all Gokou had done for all of them, all he had seen his father accomplish, how could he do anything but have faith in the hero?

Besides, he thought, the safest place for Bra to be was with his dad. Even if she was afraid of him, he was the strongest guy around. If Vegeta and Bulma were gone, they were probably looking for the one that did this to their daughter. Gokou was good for Bra, gentle and soothing and kind. Goten had absolute faith.

* * *

"She's been in there for hours, Dad." Goten was pacing. When he returned from his shift, his door was locked same as it had been before. He knocked on his door and when there was no response he assumed she'd fallen asleep. Because his father said so, he told him with a smile on his face to leave her alone. Because in Son Goku's gentle tone, he was told to stay put.

He wanted her. He wanted her incredibly bad and there was the strong urge deep inside of him to just kill the boy and keep moving. Despite that urge, Gokou looked up, a little slowly, lazily, "Is that so?" Still, he found the urge to kill the boy nearly overwhelming. He could see before his own eyes Goten taking her, clumsy and unskilled.

He sat down, frowning. Just keep control of the thoughts, just keep it all together. Just focus on your hands. Don't worry about it, don't attack him _yet. _He rested his head in his hands, "I just... She was so upset when she saw me earlier. She kept on talking about dead boyfriends. And you."

Goku perked a brow, looking up and then towards the door, "You know, it's usually when they seem to be crazy that there's truth to what they have to say." His smile was wide, like the Cheshire cat found its mouse. He saw the young man as something to prey upon, to pounce on, and even to kill.

Goten stared at his onwards towards father, a little uncertain about to say something but the words choked in his throat before he could sound them. He eyed him warily, unsure as to what to say. How unnerving his father could become, with a simple sentence.

Gokou stood, "I'm going to check up on her." He needed to get out, before the images of _his son fucking _Bra drove him mad. With jealousy and disdain does he consider his youngest son. Some part of him no longer considers Goten to be his son. Just competition. Just trouble. Something to be squashed or thrown to the side.

"Dad, maybe you shouldn't." Goten said abruptly, "She seems a little scared of you."

But the door opened, indifferent to Goten's protest, and as the doorknob broke and fell to the floor loud and heavy under the older Saiya-Jin's fist, Gokou didn't look surprised at all to find that Bura was not in the room.

* * *

"I've been very patient with you."

She let out a bit of a shriek, closing her eyes and trying to breathe and calm herself down at the sight of the obsessive pest that sat on her dresser. Again he put a quick hand over her mouth.

"But you don't respect that, now do you? And why would you?" He whispered the words harshly into her neck, pulling the girl closer to him, "I could only kill your entire family at any moment. You underestimate the power I hold over you absolutely, Bura." He smiled down at her, "Now, your mother is knocked out in that lab of hers and big brother and Daddy aren't here right now so even if you did scream…"

Her eyes widened. Slowly he removed his hand.

"Please, just go away." She sighed, sitting on her bed.

"So how did you get here, anyway?" He asked, a bit bored, "I wasn't sure that you were going to do anything at all, you seemed to like sticking around Goten's room so much. And, of course, mine."

Bra glared at him, "I came here to pack and leave."

"I'll follow you wherever you go." He said in response, a simple truth. He would have seemed valiant and noble to anyone else. And yet to her, he was something warped and twisted and ugly. "So I'm going to ask you again, very slowly and very patiently," Goku's eyes fixed on her hard and cold, "_how _did you get here?"

"I took one of Goten's cars." She pushed him away from her. "I just want you to leave me alone!"

"Now, Bura," He said moving to sit by her on the bed, "You know very well that I can't do that. You're my Saiya-Jin mate."

"You already have a Human wife!" She says, gesturing around to her room, "Goku, I'm just a high school kid trying to survive never-ending popularity contests." She shrugged a little bit, raising her shoulders up as high as she could to her cheeks. He needed to see her as a girl and not a woman. In the daylight her room seemed innocent enough, pink and feminine.

"Have you ever considered that you might just like being my mate?" He seemed… _defensive. _His eyes willed her to follow him blindly, but she turned her back on him again. In his failure, he turned around, looking at her dresser. A stuffed animal hung from a knob on the door. He smiled a little bit, savoring how adorable she was before pocketing it quickly.

"You killed the only boy I'll ever love. I'll never love you, I'll never like you, and I'll never be able to stand being around you!" She was holding her tears inside and bursting with emotion all the same, "You make me sick!"

Still, somehow the outburst seemed fake and forced. Gokou rolled his eyes at the act, "You weren't saying that last night."

"_That's_ not going to happen again!" She crossed her arms over her chest. Her voice was so low she was nearly muttering. He sat on the bed next to her, a pleasant smile placed on his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her and very slowly felt her relent in his grasp. First, legs dangling over the side, they rest on the bed. Eventually he managed to pull her up, and they lay together on her bed for a long while. She sighed, moaning and whining just a bit as she was trying in vain to pull herself away from him, but he held on to her like chains from her sins.

"You should really think about that."

* * *

**-CL**


	3. Part Three

**Something Wicked**

* * *

_Starlight. It buzzed in her ear, it growled softly, raspy, against her neck, it took her life away. This was by far more crucial than any of the other elements of her transformation. There was a numb feeling, but at the same time, she was shaking, rocking back and forth and she could feel it, in there, writhing in either anger or pain, shrieking in her blood, and she could no longer breathe over it. There is something inside of every person, the capacity to be good, to be evil. But it is not quite so black and white. One cannot be simply 'good' or 'bad.' Is a father and husband still a good man if he sleeps with another woman? Is a loner still a bad man if he becomes a father? These are the questions that Humans do not ask themselves. Their capacity, it is a curious thing. And the sky, it looked so beautiful. Sadness. Complete and total sadness, that it no longer represents freedom, but the darkness that would begin to take over, to flood from him into her. Something wicked running through her veins._

* * *

Gokou smiled at his son, "So how d'ya feel about Bra, huh?" The man held the childish grin, feigning innocence, but the monster inside was gauging the response. He was waiting for a reason to kill him, and he wanted so much to make Goten recognize the fact that Bura was very, very much his. A sick part of him, the most sadistic region of his brain, was intent on making the arrogant youth acknowledge his own inferiority. But that was a fate that Gokou knew he was saving up for a prince.

The younger man blushed, "Oh, I don't know, Dad. Things between the two of us may never work out." But Gokou was not convinced that the innocent response was quite as innocent as the boy had meant it to be. Goten had, in recent years, steered away from his father, more or less due to the lack of much in common. The boy saw his father as one-dimensional. Train, eat, sleep, train more. He didn't understand _how _someone could live that way, but he was fond of him, a kind man, and so he was polite. Even so, when his father would make attempts to whisk him away to the battlefield and no real money was involved, the boy would almost always decline.

So he, like any good father would, changed the subject, "I think we should spar, son." He licked his lips, waiting for the response. Oh, but this time he wouldn't let the little weasel get away. Not this time, no, no. And perhaps living up to his Saiya-Jin blood would have spared him in the end, but Goten had committed too many crimes. He'd attempted to covet Gokou's chosen mate, he'd wallowed in his weakness, and all-in-all just _existed. _Gokou's concern seemed valid: he was a waste of air and space.

Goten let out a groan, "Daaad," Gokou, all at once infuriated at the whine, did not give into his anger and kept the mask on, "I haven't done that in so long." And when the determined look on his father's face was not erased, Goten attempted to apply a sort of flawed logic to the argument, "You know you'd win." And Gokou looked on at him, '_Exactly.' _he thought darkly. Goten was somewhat bitter. He was indeed jealous of his father's strength, if for no reason other than the fact that strength seemed to be the equivalence of a key to impress people. While he did not find his father to be arrogant, he did not necessarily enjoy taking beatings from a man so many decades his senior, perhaps because, he too, recognized the fact that he was supposed to have surpassed the previous generation and failed to do so.

Oh, exquisite rage and jealousy! How he would make his son pay!

He smiled, "So get in shape!" He said it with that optimistic Son grin, the sacred symbol of hope and purity, slapped insistently on his face like he didn't know any better. And it was so very simple, the way that it worked its way into his son's heart, and he felt a tinge of guilt that he hadn't spent as much time with his parents as he should have in his later years. He looked around for his mother, but she was apparently gone. And so Goten sighed. But the sparring sessions always depressed him, the idea of inadequacy and failure always looming ominously ahead. Gokou had never expressively stated that at some point another dark monster would come to attack the planet Earth and threaten all he held dear, and that it would then be up to Goten's generation of Saiya-Jins to stand and defeat the threat, at least he hadn't since they were children, but Goten could feel the look in his eyes, the look saying _you need to be prepared._

The son gave in his father's urges, "Alright, but let me change first." He missed the flicker of irritation and impatience on his father's face. Gokou sulked a bit to himself, not entirely understanding why his son would need to change for his own funeral, but the thought tickled him so much that he started laughing, laughing until he saw his son, changed in some awkward looking gym attire, giving him a quizzical look from the doorway of his room. Gokou shrugged it off with a grin to pacify the boy's suspicion. And so they left, "Do you have a place special in mind, Dad?"

"I think I do." And this time, Goten did not miss the darkness in his father's voice. He frowned a little bit, piecing bits of information together from the morning on, he'd seen his father act off and odd before, but never like this. Behind his childish, carefree looks and grins, Goten could sense very certain smoothness to his actions that had not existed prior. His father seemed smug, more confident, more aware of everything, but at the same time what truly bothered Goten was the fact that the man was so similar to the Gokou he was expected to be. The act had completely fooled him until he heard his voice, the unmistakable look of malice in the man's eyes.

With a sudden curiosity, dangerously slow, Goten abruptly asked, "So have you heard from Bulma and Vegeta yet?" He was quite frightened, but at the same time a part of him wanted to get to the bottom of Bura's outburst. Inside is somewhat panicked mind, he wished desperately that he'd listened to the girl. But he was so sure that she was just freaking out. Even so, still willing to believe his father was just in a funk, that he'd overreacted to something minuscule, Goten waited for his father's response and endured the long, meaningful silence.

"You know, I really never liked you. Gohan could be super whiny, but the kid had some real power. And it's so insane, because you reached the level of a Super Saiya-Jin so young. It was almost exciting, that if you did that then by the time you were older you would be something amazing." Gokou sighed, he seemed casual, disappointed, but Goten was shocked. And Gokou grinned to himself, now was the time! This was his moment! "I was expecting a lot from you, Goten, and you didn't deliver."

So the gore began. Goten, giving a little gasp in surprise as he stared at his father's speech, tried to blink it out. It was true. A part of him resigned at that moment, but the whole of him reacted with disbelief. It was bizarre too... it wouldn't ever happen! No, this was not his father. Perhaps it was Turles or some other Saiya-Jin long lost that had decided to pretend he was just to get to him-and then Goten sadly acknowledged the fact that only his father would know the details of his power, and his brother's. His racing mind tried to register the information. The boy could only sense his immediate danger, he tried to make sense of this, but began shaking his head incessantly, "You're not... you're not..."

"Son Gokou?" Gokou offered, giving his son a curious look. His handsome face tilted to frown over at his son, and it was somewhat odd to the man that his child wouldn't be as attractive if more than he was. Aware of the fact that he was quickly becoming irresistible, his sexuality suddenly unlocked, Gokou did take a bizarre sort of pride in the fact that the boy before him was just that: a boy, awkward, frightened, and not worth Bura or any of his other prospective mate's attention. His eyes flickered over his body, looking for some sign of _strength, _but the only choice was quite clear.

Goten, stepping back a little, and despite his fear he managed each word carefully, "Dad, what are you going to do to Bura?" Goten watched him, the fact that his motions were becoming more fluid, he did, he seemed like a fiery liquid, and he was terrifying. It was, everything was so frightening to Goten. He was interested in attending dates, fresh out of college, ready for life and to begin the period of adulthood. He'd wanted to succeed as Trunks had regardless of his mother's help, and he'd felt the pressure to catch up to his old friend. In a look designed to seem unafraid, Goten stared seriously at his father, attempting to mimic the very look he'd seen on the hero's face when fighting any previous threats. He puffed his chest out, tried to fill the shoes of the champion, uncertain with himself, but not willing to risk seeming uncertain to his father, and his gut instinctively told him that it was indeed his father.

He'd been waiting for that. Gokou smiled now, but it was a sick smile sending chills to the younger man's stomach, "I think I'm going to fuck her again." The emphasis on the word '_fuck' _sent another electric jolt to Goten's abdomen. Too struck to be jealous, he did feel the sense of regret and sympathy, and part of him vaguely touched the idea that her fate was to be worse than his. He did not know exactly how he'd approached the foresight, but it did not matter anymore.

She'd tried to warn him. She did what she could, and he failed to sound any sort of alarm. Gokou firmly grabbed the boy's arm, twisting it in his socket, Goten let out a squeal in pain, all the more invitation for Gokou to grab him by his hair with his free hand and send his body hurling down into an erect knee. Blood was already trickling out of the younger man's mouth. He spit it out, but to Gokou's surprise, he tried to stand, though his body waved from one side to the other. It looked as though he was making an attempt to counter the critical blow by summoning the power of a Super Saiya-Jin, but Gokou scoffed.

"So do it."

The boy glared at him. He'd received hits by far harder, but he could not do it.

"What? Out of shape, out of time?" Gokou taunted.

And it was true. His spoiled half-Human body was not able to do something so simple. Goten's mind raced, it was absurd, like Peter Pan forgetting to fly. Like his father turning into a crazed monster, looking at him with amused eyes. But abruptly, Gokou lunged forward, his flat palm faced out to the side with just a tad of energy at his fingertips to soften the makeshift sword, jerked in through Goten's softening abdomen. Father looked at son with a cruel smile, his hand now freely twisting about as the winner stood toying with the boy's insides, laughing that Human skin was not so resilient.

* * *

He pushed her back onto the bed. She made a soft noise, but he growled and began his attack on her body. With a rough kiss on her lips that was so demanding that she was unsure if she was returning it or not, she could only endure. She was frightened. His hands were roaming over her body, ignoring her hands that went to push him away;_ she'd always assumed that he would be gentle one reason or another._ And he was not hurting her, but he was completely unconcerned with her.

"Gokou!" She hissed through his lips, and she could feel him start to smile over her. She tried to remember how she got there, how eventually she fell asleep in her arms on his bed and ended up hours later on his. How, when she woke up alone she took a small stroll around the room. She glanced at the photos of Gokou and ChiChi, taken so long ago. And it seemed that the instant that she picked up a photo, he burst through the room, pushing her against his bed.

But in a lazy, ragged voice he only responded, "Shut up."

And she wanted to yell at him, to say that he was raping her, again, but she could not ignore the fact that it felt so_ good, _his teeth scraping on her neck, his hands holding her down, she was not a submissive, but he was a powerful man and it sent chills to her stomach that he was on her. To even his slight surprise, she pushed him back rolling on top of his chest, her tongue probing into his mouth. And the excitement he felt! Finally she reciprocated!

Bura rubbed herself against his body, clothes removed, clothes removed, and everywhere hot fingers desperately moved to take care of it. She could feel his hands running along her backside, playing with the sensitive parts of her flesh, he let out amused smiles when she would involuntarily flinch, he tilted his head downward, watched with serious fascination her body positioning itself over him, his length disappearing inside of her tiny womanhood, both letting out gasps in pleasure and surprise and pain. At first she was slow, grinding her hips up and circling back in a soft rhythm.

It felt so full, as he shifted his hips slightly, stretching out his arms to grab her hips, pulling her to him, closer and closer, and all that could be heard was the breathing. He watched her, every part of her. Her lovely heart-shaped face, a mixture of intense pleasure and concentration written across it, pink lips open, a thin layer of sweat forming over her brow; her breasts, smaller than her mother's and yet full, nearly hypnotizing him with their own frame of motion; her arms that had since allowed her hands to get tangled in his hair, and he laughed just a bit to himself that the girl always loved running her hands through his wild locks. While at times her fingers twisted and pulled slightly, the wild, forceful focus of her hands intensified the moment and he could tell that she was reaching her point.

With a wicked grin, he sat up, holding her in his firm arms for a second before resting her back on the bed. The lust was like fire in his eyes, but he pulled out and the soft whimper of desire emitted from her mouth made him chuckle out loud. It earned a sharp look from her, but the glance softened, "Gokou..."

"Wouldn't want to rape you," He sourly hissed inches above her face, and then he dove down, teasing her with his lips, running them over hers, letting his tongue touch hers through breaths. There was a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, an unsatisfied urge, and she swallowed. Gokou knew the look in her eyes was all his, and he wanted to lick every inch of her flesh, hissed, "_Look at you, little girl, begging for this with your body and your eyes."_

She glared at him through her desire, wriggling under him. She moved so to create greater friction between the bodies, and he chuckled, dipping his tongue down to create a line from her cheek to her jaw to her neck. Her body jerked, his fingers probed the delicate area around her womanhood, travelling up to her navel and then back down again, drumming them along her hip, and he could feel her holding her breath, he loved it, the power she so unwillingly handed him. But the princess was surprised to see that Gokou'd already made it to his feet, his back turned to the bed. He let out a bit of a sigh, '_Oh well.' _it seemed to say, and started for the door. Despite herself, Bura stood and followed him. She was naked, her hair damp with sweat and she bit her lip. Gokou glanced back at her from over his shoulder, cocking his brow, and smiled inwardly in anticipation.

Bura found herself stretching her arms out just to touch him. The feeling of his skin, somehow it became a necessity. Living. Breathing. Gokou. She rolled her hands down his back, standing behind him, stepping closer to him until she finally had it, he was right there next to her and she was intoxicated. His chest, she closed her eyes and rested her head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling it slightly through a moan as she just barely traced the perfectly formed muscles. And then, she moved them up to hold his hips and rocked him slowly left, right, back again, pressing hard against his backside, lulling him, lulling him.

Her tongue glided over his shoulder. She had to stand on her tip-toes to reach it, and slowly lowered herself so that she could move regularly. Her teeth brushed against his spine. She had an odd fascination with his muscles, which he found to be intensely amusing, inspiring a rush of arrogance. Bura crossed her body over his to face him, tilting her head to the side with an adorable look of curiosity in her eyes, "You're so masculine." It wasn't much of a question or a declaration, but a thought that she allowed to slip out in what seemed to be her great awe.

Gokou felt that he had no choice other than to condone and encourage such behavior, she was, after all, to be his mate. He sent a chilling hand at the base of her neck, his fingers curling up her skull to almost roughly massage her. In a slow, sultry tone he replied, "What else?" It was obvious. There was nothing about the young woman that wasn't alluring. The circles she was drawing over his chest until she moved closer and closer, his member pressing against her abdomen, and she bent down, licking the inside of his hip, causing him to twitch with a gasp at the excitement, the jolt of sensual energy that had consequentially surged through his body. He let out an unwilling moan, deep and throaty.

"You are _so..."_

* * *

"So I guess she's not _Daddy's little girl _anymore."

Vegeta was hysterical. Inside, that is. On the exterior, he was calm, hoping that somewhere there would be a way out of the crisis. This new side of Kakarotto, he was clearly unstable and unpredictable. Even so, the father'd locked on to his daughter's energy signal, always waiting for it to falter even just a little bit so that he could rush into action. All the same, it drove him mad, the very idea that that _filthy, rotten-_

"Is she as good as her mother?" The voice taunted. And Vegeta flinched, not entirely prepared. He'd endured these sort of mental beatings before, but his stomach still turned sick to think that he had defiled the princess. He swallowed, glaring ahead of him. And finally, Gokou came into sight, cracking his neck a little bit to allow his former rival to see nail and bite marks on his rough, tanned flesh, "I think you're as good as dead."

But Vegeta laughed. Ruthless. Hard. Cold. Laughter. It caught the latter off guard. "You should know something, Kakarotto." And the tone was different, accented perhaps, or maybe it was just the fact that it was so laced with malice that Gokou turned full attention to the shorter man. He'd been prepared to battle Vegeta, even considered leaving him alive because they'd been such good old friends, but this unexpected development sent him into a cautious silence. And then Vegeta got very close in a menacing way that did inspire some fear in Gokou's chest, "I just killed your granddaughter."

* * *

**-CL**


	4. Part Four

**Something Wicked**

* * *

_The blazing morning sun, it glared at her until she squeezes her eyes shut and eases them back open, too groggy to recall just yet the carnage that she had witnessed. For those few moments, she'd disregarded the bed that she slept in that was not hers, and the windows, and the slight aching in her body. Surrender. Oh, there is something about it that always seems appealing. It's easier to give up or give in, just let the tide wash you away, this or that-it doesn't really matter because there is no way to win. To surrender is also to be abdicated from any claim to responsibility. Just be there, just to exist and survive. No worries. A fighter's spirit, broken. A young life, in shambles on the dirty bedroom floor. Possession. Oh, all living creatures experience that internal desire to keep and obtain. But one cannot so easily accept the position as the 'possessed.' It's the curious thing, how possession and surrender work hand in hand. The benefit, the cost. And no matter how things may seem, there is always a choice. _

* * *

Gokou felt something odd swinging about inside of his chest. The prince's cold, ruthless eyes were unnerving and yet something inside of him was pleased that the prince could still deliver (so unlike Goten). It was almost... sentimental, this twinge he felt. Nostalgic. Another chain of thoughts sprang to mind: he murdered a girl that had barely been regarded over the past few months in retaliation, as Gokou had "raped" and "kidnapped" his daughter, because she was asking for it, by the way, so it really isn't-but better yet, some sort of joy came out of it: so the prince was willing to kill to get his point across. A little too late, a wrong judgment. If he had indeed killed Pan, it was surely only a warning. Vegeta wasn't stupid; the man had to have known that he'd just killed his own son off. Or perhaps Vegeta was afraid of causing any great emotional trauma: the grief could fuel the fire, and it was already apparent which of the two warriors was stronger...

The entire… gesture seemed off and wrong to Gokou, as Vegeta didn't seem arrogant or proud of himself. It was a simple, a fact, almost even business-like. "So you killed Pan. What of it? Why should I care?" He suddenly felt, despite himself, that he needed to prove that he was valid. He needed to prove that he was not this fool. He needed to be recognized, acknowledge, _I am not a saint. _At the same time, Vegeta was heading somewhere and the situation was feeling more intense than he had initially figured it would be.

Vegeta sneered at the younger man, "You are still a fool."

Gokou tilted his head to the side a tad bit, trying to avoid the irritation he was feeling. It made no sense. Why would he kill her? No, he couldn't feel her life energy. He didn't figure Vegeta would lie over such a thing-the prince was way too into that whole honor thing to... what did Pan have that would even be of any use? A drop of Saiya-Jin blood that would, in the end, have been more useful to Vegeta than anything else? "You're really kind of shooting yourself in the foot with that one, Vegeta. I just don't get it. Why would you kill someone that really doesn't mean anything at all to me-a girl with enough Saiya-Jin blood to be mated-"

"_Enough!" _Gokou looked straight in the eyes of the man that seemed quite irritated with the logic, "She deserved to die."

"Well, perhaps I'll just decide one day that Bura deserves to die." It was a lie. Hurt her, yes, but the girl was to be his mate. He held her in an odd esteem somewhere between his toy and his challenge and conquest. His body felt loyal to her even when his mind was screaming to torture the insolent little fool. Gokou knew full and well he could not kill the girl, and Vegeta probably did as well.

Vegeta gave out something between laughter and a scoff, "And kill yourself along with it? You've mated her. If she dies, you will too."

Gokou swallowed a bit, he had known what it was to mate and in all ways he had chosen her as his mate. But even so, his knowledge had its limits and Vegeta seemed to be parading about, announcing his ignorance. He only knew what instinct told him. His silence all but confirmed his fate.

"And what is it that you _really _intend on doing, Kakarotto?"

"Space seems to be the only real option, I suppose. Although, I won't lie, I'm not too interested in recreating the Saiya-Jin race. I've had too many kids for this lifetime, don't you think?" Gokou frowned a tad bit, toying with thoughts and plans. Vegeta's only opportunity rested in the fact that there seemed to be no coherent plan formulated by this freak, he watched the cloudy look appear over his long-time… what was his long time rival's face.

"You know..." And there it was, he must have reached some sort of decision because his lips tugged into a smirk, "I think I want you to come with us."

The prince was more than used to mind games. He had for decades been able to stare straight into the eyes of the most grotesque scenes and not even allow that momentary flash of emotion in the eyes that even the toughest warriors seemed to let. No, Vegeta had complete control of his emotion since his early teen years. He knew he was supposed to have been taken aback, but this was not entirely unexpected. It was in the blood of a Saiya-Jin to fight. It was in the blood of a Saiya-Jin to serve. He had not so easily been able to feel this way during the last encounter, where Kakarotto's mind had been clouded by lust and whatever great need to possess and obtain _his daughter. _They were alone, and he did feel some certainty that the third class warrior would not kill him, but the instinct to destroy all life forms was bubbling up, another indication that this... transformation was recent, or more recent than not. At most, it would have been months ago that the bumbling oaf had been replaced with... in all respects, Kakarotto.

"And if I don't?" Vegeta challenged.

"Then you can die here knowing that I'll be _fucking _your little princess against her will and there's nothing you can do to stop it." He spat the words more bitterly than he would like. Oh, the little child that he'd made a woman out of, how she could be so cruel! How sometimes, she could look at him with those blue eyes of hers clouded with lust and desire and her consent was almost as sweet as her corruption. How others, she would look at him with that glint in her eyes, condemning him, hating him in that silent, seething rage that mirrored her father's. So much like her father was she, it was almost awkward for him to acknowledge it. If one were to just glance at her, they would insist she was the clone of her mother, but it was the exact opposite. Her every movement commanded attention, and her tone commanded acknowledgement. She was still young, he could still resist that, but a good part of him wondered how long it would be before she would attempt to usurp the power in the relationship.

He did hold a bizarre form of affection for the girl. If he'd really mated her as Vegeta asserted, that could be it, but even before, when he first noticed her, when it first happened… at first it was a paternal concern, and then as his mind warped so did his emotion. He could not place it as love, but for some damned reason he felt it was important to care for her, something between an obligation and an obsession, an emotion and a demand.

Both knew Bura would have to attend. _If _that fool had actually mated her, he would be more dangerous and slowly drive himself crazy without her company. But there was the chance that he hadn't. To have sex is not to mate, and if that were the case... He would have to see Bura first. There could be a way he could save her from becoming Kakarotto's concubine. His mind was constantly replaying those moments in his head when his daughter was still safe in her bed and in his arms, and they lead up with a creeping dread to that final moment. A damned finger of his knowledge of what was to come tugs creases in his most precious memories. He could still see her, her hair matted with sweat from fear as she sat naked in her bed, not so long ago, and as she was defiled by that bastard's arrogant touch, defiled from the inside out and left at his mercy. "I want to see my daughter-alone."

And the worst part of it all was that in her own fear she'd made a deal with the devil, a pact that he could not break no matter how half-hearted the verbal contract might have been: she asked to go with Kakarotto.

Even now, his stomach twisted knot after knot in anguish and anger at the very idea that she'd been tricked into begging for her own demise. And to the prince, it was a terrible sort of demise; it was the death of her innocence and the end of his era as a peaceful man. He'd grown to enjoy peace. He'd accepted briefly his role as the protector, and then from it he fell like morning dew slipping from leaves to a man relishing in a time of peace. No need to conquer, nothing to prove, he found himself maturing when there was a time he thought he'd already grown as much as necessary. But now, back to survival tactics and mind games, and he was unsure if he was sad to see the man of peace go or not. Sadness was too complex of an emotion for such a complicated man. The only thing he registered completely was his disgust and disdain and that blazing anger that he felt.

"No." Gokou shook his head, "She's not yours anymore. I made her mine."

"I won't go with you, and I don't care what you do to her." His tone was ice cold. Kakarotto lifted his head up. He was searching for some sort of sign that it was a bluff, but he could see nothing other than the prince's stone glare. Common sense played to his side, the prince loved his daughter as no other being on the planet.

In an instant, he became hell-bent on the prince's attendance. "You will come with us!"

"You will give me my daughter back." Vegeta said. His tone was control. Control. Power. Mentally, Gokou was in almost a state of panic, but he could not see why. With an awkward posture and a deep breath, his back straightened. Prepared for a fight, he balled his fists together. Let the planet witness the bout of the century, the elite fighters of the universe battling over custody of a young woman, the title of the world's strongest. The thrill of it did excite the Saiya-Jin blood in his veins, and yet the identity crisis Vegeta threw upon him left him uncertain. As though the body was just his again, Gokou realized he barely had the means to use it. Unlike the carnage with Goten, unlike anything else where he felt calm and smooth and cool, Gokou now felt hot and itchy in his own skin. Vegeta held the upper hand if only because of his ability to create the damnable infestation of paranoia within Gokou's skull.

Vegeta smirked a bit, prepared for a fight and yet completely unconvinced of Gokou's ability to commence in one at the moment. Rough laughter filled the scene. With the knowledge that before the prince he could not merely back down and yet aware himself of his desire to get to the bottom of the uncomfortable feeling, Gokou felt the desire to leave burning within him. And yet... he didn't want to leave. He hadn't been dismissed.

* * *

Sweeter than wine, more soft than a rose, delicate like the flesh of her lips, she was quite taken with the forest that surrounded Son Gokou and his happy family in his happy little hut in their happy little uninhabited area. She knew that if she walked far enough to the north she might just find Gohan, and story had it he was the strongest of all the warriors, at one time. She knew that she couldn't find much protection in Pan or Videl, but surely some company would have been nice. Slight movement in the corner of the eye caught her glance. ChiChi.

She smiled kindly at Bura, although she seemed a tiny bit surprised that the girl was still there. Bura herself had forgotten almost completely that ChiChi existed. Confined mostly to the Son bedroom, she wondered why ChiChi never seemed to notice or bother them or notice the din of their sex. Bura didn't so much have a huge desire to speak to ChiChi: for some reason, she felt sad for that. She'd wait for Goten to come back and try once more to speak to him. A part of her was intimidated by ChiChi in light of the sins committed.

She walked with longer strides away from the cottage. She noticed that the woman looked up from her housework once more with that inquiring squint in her eyes that only a mother could give, but she did not ask any questions of make any sort of move to speak to Bura. The moment almost needed no words. She felt from ChiChi that the woman was offering maternal guidance should she need any, but there was also the distance that one liberally applied when an unknown guest stays over.

The forest was queer, she found, as she walked along the path that she had the faintest tickle of an idea that Gokou'd created decades and decades before. It was a worn path, a good path, and she half-wondered where exactly along the road there was that devil's pitchfork that led to where she was now. It wound about the area like a friendly snake, allowing her to watch and experience with her young eyes nature in a way that she never exactly had before. Living in the city was something that she loved, but with the cool breeze of the night and the complacent look that the sky gave her, peaking over the tops of the tallest trees, telling her that things would work out in the end if she would only be strong enough to will them to, she felt a connection with the world that she never had before.

She'd hoped that it was a life-altering connection: many of those emotions felt when young dry out far too soon. She recalled briefly a period when she thought she was religious, but it turned out that she was really afraid of death. And then there was the time when she determined devoutly to be beautiful for the rest of her life, but she found that in reality she just wanted love. And girls give sex to get love, and boys give love to get sex. And the world would never be different, even though it ought to be, but that was just her opinion on the matter.

A monkey looked down at her, flexing the muscles of its curious face. It seemed to ask why she was there, or if she was lost, and Bura tried to hold in a laugh at the absurdity of the idea of having a conversation with the little brown creature. She wondered how many times Gokou had come across this exact tree, this exact monkey, this exact expression of wonderful, inviting curiosity in its eyes... for this was his path that she was walking, and she could not shake the eerie fact that she was following it.

She could even see to some extent where his foot prints had worn into the ground. Occasionally she could see smaller ones in more remote areas, and she half wondered if they belonged to ChiChi or perhaps Gohan or Goten when they were younger. But this was Gokou's path, and this was where he made his rounds frequently, and there were many detours by lakes and ponds, and she gained a bit of an appreciation for who he was. And it was with sadness that she knew she would have to return to who he became.

A sparkle of defiance rose in her. The idea of leaving came to mind. So distracted was she by the path in the forest that she hadn't registered the idea that she could simply fall off of it and trail aimlessly through the forest until she found someone to help her, or perhaps she would be eaten by the unkind beasts of the forest and with no one to protect her and little means to protect herself, of course that would be a good idea. Her sarcasm did not cheer her mood. Sarcasm rarely helps without an audience to think that the delivery of it is witty or charming.

She sat on a rock and watched the fish of the lake move to their own rhythm. It seemed that a great party was occurring under the water and even though she could be a witness to the flow of the laps, she could not be a part of the festivities. It made her sad, the disjointed relationship that she had with her surroundings. It was almost like back at home how sometimes she would walk into the Capsule Corporations building. One moment she would be standing by her brother, laughing and joking with him, and it felt like the second she felt the cold breeze from the air, he would immediately conform to the offices and he would leave her, awkwardly standing in a place that was unwelcoming and yet indifferent to her. The pretentious air shunned her, and yet the furniture did not acknowledge her.

She had to find a way to get out, but she knew well enough that Gokou would be able to find her wherever she went. She didn't want her father or brother to be hurt. Goten's home away from home, a humble apartment in the city, that was too far away for her to even find her way out of the vast forest. The only real option would be to try to find Gohan. He said he wasn't a monster, so he wouldn't hurt Gohan, and if he wouldn't hurt Gohan he wouldn't hurt Pan, and he didn't hurt ChiChi, so he wouldn't hurt Videl. Seeing the oldest son of _her mate_ seemed to be the best idea at the time. Sadly, she knew not where to go. There were no helpful signs among the trees. They knew by heart where everything was placed, and so she assumed, Gokou did too.

Bura walked so long on the path in silence that she almost forgot the sound of her own voice. What a terrible, creepy feeling it was, to forget yourself! Even though her Saiya-Jin blood did her well and healed the gash on her leg quickly, she felt the dull aching return to her side. Her face was flushed; she tried to ignore the pain. Surely she was dehydrated as well, she could feel the back of her throat, sticky and demanding attention. She had to stop several times to sit on rocks and the such to rub her feet or pull pebbles out of her shoes, and she saw the sides of her toes brightening with red, demanding for her to rest. But the sky was falling soon; she could see the tint of rosy pink and brilliant orange pulling down on the sky. The air was cooler and yet it felt more humid. Her hair frizzed a little bit. As she was rubbing the sole of her foot, she saw a snake. A terrible, black snake, and she fell back off of her rock, scooting herself with her hips and the palms of her hands to bump against the tree not so far behind her. As she slowly attempted to stand, eyeing the black little devil, she heard that terrible, and unnerving hiss and looked over to see five more, all black snakes, all six hissing at her.

She could feel their aggression, and find no outlet.

Six, six, six snakes, all glaring at her. Her heart raced.

'_Is this it? Is this how it's going to end?' _She wondered darkly, panic creating a film of sweat over her forehead.

Quick as lightening, the largest snake lashed out and sank its teeth into her arm. Bura howled in pain.

* * *

-**CL**


	5. Part Five

**Something Wicked**

**

* * *

**

_The stars are like mischievous diamonds set in the sky by a god. The night cloaks such awful things. The summer wind, kissing her shoulders, suddenly the way that it is perceived all changes. Is it a promise? Is it a curse? Met with confusion and self-loathing and doubt, she walks alone. _

_

* * *

_

Gohan felt that fate was a funny thing, as he mostly always had. How was it that he could, at that exact moment, have found her in such a moment? It was insane to him, how life itself seemed to lend to the idea that things work themselves out. So adamantly did he believe that good things can happen at the right moment, that undeniably perfect moment frozen in time forever. Gohan believed in vindication.

Gohan believed in perfection. Gohan, a closet optimist at this point, had lived watching his father day in and day out practically preach about these sorts of things without eloquence. And the subtle, gentle manner in which he conveyed these thoughts and that perfect simplicity that Son Gokou possessed, stood as the brightest flame of hope that had ever existed.

There she lay, bloody and bruised. He watched her carefully, almost afraid of touching her frail, motionless frame. She was a very pretty thing, very much like what he'd imagine Bulma to look like as a teenager, and yet dainty in a way that her mother could have never been. She seemed so fragile and young. He smiled to himself, recalling the days of his youth that could never be returned to them. 'Use these wisely,' he thought at her. But she was without response, of course, like a china doll on display. No emotion and no life to her, she slept in his single bed like something that couldn't be touched.

Something about this girl seemed forbidden or already possessed, Gohan coughed as he noticed.

She must have heard his thoughts, or perhaps fate was humoring his prior musings, because she moaned a bit, coming around. In an instant he was at her side, rubbing her forehead as he had Pan's when she was sick, feeling for fever. "You need to eat. You've been out for a little bit."

The china doll herself looked around, opened and closed those glass blue eyes, let out another moan, "...Was it all just, a dream then?"

"Was what a dream?"

Bura remained quiet. Gohan took that for confusion and laughed a bit, "You were in the woods, outside of my parents'. Whatever were you doing all the way out here? I haven't even heard from Goten in so long, were you meeting up with him?"

_'Then it wasn't a dream._' She thought, a bit of sadness washing over her. So none of this was a dream, and yet it all seemed so surreal, all that had happened, all that had transpired. "I was... I was..." She began to panic a bit inside, unsure of what to say or how to explain herself. She didn't want to endanger Gohan in any way, like she had so many others, and while Gokou had pledged to not hurt his sons... He'd proved he was capable of murder.

Murder.

Such an intense word, when one really considers it. It's not an easy word to use, and yet thrown around quite carelessly. What does it take, inside, to be able to take the life of another? How does one feel like he or she has such a right? Does it grant any sense of self-righteousness? Did Gokou feel like a god?

Power, was that it? Did it give him power? Why did he do it? Why did he kill? He could have threatened the boys. He could have just taken her if that was what he wanted. Was it a gesture, in his weird way? What was he trying to _prove? _What was he trying to _say_ to her?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Gohan's gentle laugh, "It doesn't matter. You were attacked by a pretty nasty snake."

Gentle eyes and gentle laughter emitted from her little mouth as she was only left to think, _is this really what Gokou was really like? _

She probably would have loved him. "Snakes."

Gohan raised a brow at the correction. "There were several?"

"I remember... six." She rubbed her head a bit. She felt a pain in her arm. She flinched, and then it felt very numb. He looked at her with sympathy, almost as if he was willing to apologize for that which he had no control over.

He rested a hand on her shoulder, but she could tell he was controlling the weight. It was merely to comfort her. There was nothing selfish at all about it, "It's alright, Bura. I can have you back home after tonight." He smiled at her.

She wished very much she could believe him. Before he could sense the sadness in her eyes, the desperation that she felt from within, and the fact that she absolutely had to acknowledge her sins, and the indulgences that followed head on, Bura changed the subject, "So why were you out there, Gohan? Aren't you busy with work?"

He laughed, again. His eyes were cheerful and bright, "Oh, it's really rather odd. I'm kind of embarrassed to say."

"Go on…" She smiled a bit, blushing. She tried to be nonchalant and yet she was so eager to know what all he knew.

"Well, I just felt that I should be. I left work early, and I had only been out there for a bit before I heard you scream." He tangled his hand in his hair, tilting his head up towards the ceiling as if looking for a better explanation, "I guess it was a good thing after all."

Bura felt warm on the inside, as if someone had turned a light on that had been turned off.

"Actually," He continued with amusement in his tone, "I haven't been to my summer cabin out here in a while. Work's really been pretty... demanding lately."

"Is that where we are?"

"Heh, yes. I forgot that you haven't been here since you could barely walk. It was after the Budokai, we had a barbecue here, Bra." He was moving about in the kitchen. Bura sat up and pulled a worn, soft quilt over to her shoulders. She took in the scent and smiled. Gohan had been going on, about how small she was or something, but she couldn't quite hear him over the sounds of pans. He must have been making her dinner.

She examined herself. There were bruises, bright green and ready to turn a deep purple on her arms and thighs. The bites had been bandaged, and there were many. Her legs, her arms. Gohan must have examined her whole body. He also must have noticed the marks Gokou had left on her neck. She wondered what Gohan thought of the hickeys and bites. Did Gohan think she was a whore?

"The city is so... different." Bura let out as Gohan entered, tray in hand.

"I brought you soup for dinner. What would you like to drink?" He smiled, setting the tray to the side so he could assist her in fully sitting up. His hand on her back was warm.

Bura smiled, "You're too kind, really... I can just have water."

"A modest request from Vegeta's daughter," He raised a brow. "Are you sure? I can make you hot chocolate or something? I'm not really a doctor... I'm so glad that wasn't poisonous."

Bura smiled, "I guess hot chocolate would be fine. But I mean you really ought to not go through any trouble, Gohan... Are you just going to stay here tonight? What about Videl and Pan?"

"Oh, I have a feeling that they have managed to occupy themselves well enough." He winked at her, "My wife has taken a fancy to shopping online all day so she's spending money left and right at the moment and Panny has been gone for a few days. Last I knew she was at a friend's house. You know how hard it is to be keeping track of people your age."

"Yeah... it's funny, how quickly life can change." She muttered. Gohan raised a brow, and Bura coughed quickly. He set the tray on her lap gently, and she examined the soup. It smelled nice, "Did Chi-Chan teach you how to prepare this? It smells wonderful!"

He laughed a bit in response, shaking his head, "Actually, I managed this one on my own."

Bura was in love with the comfort of the soup and of the bed and of the entire atmosphere, so far away from Son Gokou. It felt so odd to think such a thing, as Gokou had always been depicted in story after story as the type of man that was there when he was most needed. Her mother had an entire repertoire of stories describing his kindness and selflessness and determination and integrity.

However this entity, the dark man that she had so come to know recently that came in and out, demanding sex and then ignoring her-

She considered telling Gohan about it. About everything that had happened, the abduction and her transformation. And yet when she opened her mouth it felt weighted. She found that she couldn't do it. After her attempts with Goten seemed so failed... despite her fear of Gokou, and what he had become, she could not risk talking to Gohan.

"Tell me, Gohan..." She leaned back, closing her eyes. "What day is it?"

He frowned, "It's Sunday evening, Bura." He looked concerned. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, "You know, Bura, whatever is going on, you can talk to me about it." He began slowly. How appropriate.

Inwardly, she sighed.

"Have you run away from home? Is something going on? I can't even reach your mother..." Gohan took the tray away. She had barely touched her hot chocolate, but the soup was nearly gone. By the time he turned back to look at her, she was asleep.

He watched her for a moment. She seemed so exhausted.

Bura lay there with her eyes closed, hoping he would buy it. Very, very soon, however, she fell into a deep slumber...

"_Bra," the voice echoed in the darkness, like ripples in water, "you're beautiful, but it doesn't matter, because you're fucking weird." _

_**Down!**_

_It was almost like an out of body experience, you see. It was the sensation of floating, as if under water, or as if taken away to another realm. She floated around, watching herself do things from above. She was weightless, without sin or the heaviness of responsibility that one habitually carries about in the chest. She felt sunny and warm and cool and free all at once. The air tasted sweet and light. And then, quite suddenly, a black darkness surrounded her very soul. The shadows hissed at her and confined her like chains wrapped around her heart. Her soul lay in the clouds, shrouded by the darkness, only able to watch the scene. _

_Swirls of colors enveloped her body below. Red, love and passion and anger all at once, and royal purple, and mellow blue, and grey, and green, and orange, and soft pinks snaked around her body as if they were bands of all of her emotions: who she was, who she had been, what she was to become. It occurred to her that the colors had not come to her, they had come from her. But the colors began to darken. The grey of sadness and despair and hopelessness turned to a soft black, taking over. The darkness dominated her entirely. Her soul watched as her body was slowly drained of its color. The bands began to leave, the purples and reds and blues. _

_Her body fell to the ground. Several moments passed before it finally stood again. Bura watched as it seemed cold, and metallic, and indifferent. A huge, thick black snake approached her once more. It slithered up her leg and it dipped its tongue into her sex. It frightened her with its power and abrupt entrance. Finally it met her, eye to eye. It bobbed its head from side to side, but the body made no response. It did not defy the snake, and yet it did not cower from it either. _

_In the clouds Bura faced the darkness head on. Everything seemed to have taken on the form of a snake. She could not be indifferent or cold. Her soul could not escape. _

* * *

His fury took over him. He could see nothing but his own rage, ripping the house apart violently, knocking things over and throwing things around without direction. "Where is _she?" _He breathed out fire. His damaging force was unstoppable.

He couldn't feel her ki. Vegeta couldn't have possibly had time to take her, _where was she? Did she not understand her place? _...Or was Vegeta right? Had he mated her? Questions flooded his head, anger blurred his thoughts.

Such an inexperienced Saiya-Jin, working off of instinct alone, he lamented his own ignorance at times! His only reference to the ways of his people, the only key to all of the puzzles he had was misshapen. His greatest guide had just become his greatest enemy and rival. Should Vegeta join him, the question of who the dominant would be would have to be settled. And while he could not deny a certain respect he had despite himself for the prince, he was unwilling entirely to compromise the role as leader.

At times he thought that being mated to Bura would be the best course of action. Strong blood flowed through her veins and he wanted nothing more than to control that. To master that, to master her, would make him the king. She was young now, and petty, but very beautiful, and very much an annoyance to him. If she hid from him, if she tried to escape him, _she would be punished._

But mating, at the same time, seemed almost as though a myth or legend. How could Saiya-Jins be warriors for hire and yet be committed mates, prone to insanity or worse without the company or wellbeing of the other? How was it possible they could so suddenly be linked to each other, two parts of a whole? A very romantic, dramatic idea but it held no weight and made no sense. _There must be a way around it. There must be a way to control it. _It was inconsistent to believe otherwise.

"Where is she?" He bellowed again, staring hard at the shaking woman before him.

"I saw her go out for a walk earlier. She... she hasn't returned!" ChiChi found herself stumbling on her words. For the first time she was experiencing the temperament of the transformed Gokou. He attempted to maintain his facade until that moment, and the explosion of anger and hatred that he unleashed before her shocked her to the point of tears. Aware of his awesome strength Chi moved from him.

"Where did she go?" He was growling at her at this point, fixing his anger on her.

Chichi stared at him, and the mess about her, "I don't know. I saw her earlier, I," she caught herself tearing again, "I don't know where she is. What's happened to you, Gokou? What is this all about?"

But her demands were met with nothing. And then, she found herself coughing, on the floor, as if she'd been hit by a great wind.

His wife, lover, and friend looked into his eyes for the first time. She gazed deep into them, wanting to hold onto his face, wanting to touch him but out of fear of the unordinary more-so than fear of him she refrained. She found no kindness in them and she recognized nothing inside of those eyes. The warmth and love was gone. He was devoid of such things. There was only anger in his eyes, a rage so black that she felt a chill run down her spine. And finally, in a very harsh whisper, she emitted, "You are not Son Gokou..."

Gokou looked at her poignantly for a second, and then he smiled, allowing his teeth to scintillate in the darkness. "No, no I am not. I am Kakarotto, and I have not felt so well in a very long time."

* * *

Gohan sighed and hung up the phone. Why was it that everyone was so hard to reach all of a sudden? Their daughter in this condition, and they didn't even know it! What parents Bulma and Vegeta must have been. Trunks was even worse, of course.

He sighed and began to dial home. One ring, two, and then the bored voice of Videl sounded, "He… hello?" She yawned a little bit.

"Hey, Honey." Gohan smiled at the phone, "Have you heard from Pan yet?"

"Oh, you know how she's been lately...?" Videl rested her chin in her palm, glaring at the computer screen and holding the phone with her shoulder. She was in her heather grey comfy sweater only, relaxing from a long day at work online. Videl rolled her eyes a bit, "Your daughter has such problems checking in. I called her about an hour ago, she hasn't called me back. I'm sure she's fine, but I'll call her later to check on her again."

Gohan eyed Bura. He wondered if Bulma and Vegeta used such logic, all the while their daughter was in such a state. He felt concerned, but didn't want to alarm Videl. "Well, I've got Bura over here... she was visiting Goten, I think, and had a bit of an accident in the woods."

Immediately, Videl perked up. She sat at attention, holding the phone. Gohan frowned as he heard the adjustment; he could feel the shift in tone and regretted using those words. "You're over there with Bura?"

"Yes, uh," Gohan sighed, "I'm not sure. I went to visit my dad, and instead I found Bura. She had a bit of an accident, like I said."

"What do you mean by an accident?"

"Well, I guess she was taking a walk or something. She got attacked by a snake."

"Good lord, Gohan," Videl's tone raised, "You aren't a doctor, how do you know anything about taking care of her? You should have taken her to a hospital, not taken her in!"

Gohan sighed, "There's no clinic nearby, and I did live out there for a while. To my knowledge she was never in any real danger. I trained in those woods, so I used to get bit by those snakes all the time. She fell asleep, it'd be too much to try to get her back today, but I have to go to work tomorrow so first thing in the morning she goes back to CC."

Videl frowned, "Well, alright. Thank you for taking care of her. Look at how Bulma and Vegeta just let their kids roam the streets! I can't believe they aren't taking care of this."

"I dunno, Videl…" Gohan trailed off, "I think more is going on here than meets the eye. I suspect she'll tell me later."

"Well, just remember that Bura's got a bit of a reputation of being a liar. And make sure she stays away from Pan. I think she'd be a bit of a bad influence on Panny... you know she's already sexually active and that is not something I'm ready to deal with right now. Panny may like to go out with her friends and forget to call us, but she is not a bad girl."

He stopped himself before he said, 'Neither is Bura.' He didn't know why, but he felt like it would lead to a fight. The animosity towards the girl was apparent. "Just make sure you get a hold of Pan, then. I don't think she's going to call me, she always goes to you anyway."

They said their good-nights. Videl hung up with a bad feeling in her stomach. Gohan hung up with a heavy feeling in his chest. He knew it too. He could feel it absolutely, something was wrong.

* * *

Never before had she experienced such fear. Never before did she know what it was to feel entirely broken and confused and cut up into little bits. What this was all about, what any of this was all about was beyond her.

All she knew was that it had to do with Bura. ChiChi felt as though she should have known something. Perhaps she should have felt the changes in the air, or the shift in his attitude. Whatever his relationship with Bura was... ChiChi cringed to think of it. She felt great sympathy for the girl. She must have been innocent! ChiChi was determined to have faith in, if nothing else, the innocence of Bura.

Why did Vegeta not step up to stop this from happening? Surely he knew. ChiChi tried to gather her strength inside despite her fear. She needed to calm her mind and her heart and think. It'd been long time since Gokou had left, leaving her with the news that he'd freshly murdered their youngest son and she was lucky to not have joined the club.

Why did he leave her alive?

She examined the bruise on her arm from when he grabbed it. The dull pain was unfamiliar to her at this point, as she rarely trained the latter part of her life. Even when she trained with Goten he seemed to be aware of the fact that actually hurting her was off limits. She'd been around such giving and sweet men her whole life... and now, _this. _

She wanted to wallow in self-pity, to give up. She wanted to believe that this wasn't happening. Paralyzed in a state of disbelief, she was unsure as to what the next step would be. She felt quite powerless in her own shoes. She knew that if anyone was to take on Gokou, it would have to be the fighters, and they would have to team up. On the other hand, prematurely sounding an alarm when Gokou could return at any moment seemed foolish as well.

She searched through old boxes frantically. Even the bedroom seemed to smell a different way. She felt as if she woke up from some delusion. ChiChi wished more than anything that she could understand what was happening, what had happened. Finally, she found it, the car. She would travel into the city and find Bulma and Vegeta. Then, it would be out of her hands.

In the very pit of her stomach she battled the sentiment that it was as if things already were.

* * *

The night was very wicked and cold. It seemed almost ruthless, the wind. It cut through her hair like knives. It was not soft or sweet. She didn't know it, but he'd been waiting there like a predator for hours. He watched her. She was his, now. She could run and she could hide but now he saw her.

She seemed quite... damaged. Bandages that had been ripped off still hung from her thin arms and legs. He saw bruises. His blood boiled, _what did this! _Vegeta? No, of course not. His anger calmed. She seemed restless, her eyes were red.

Quite suddenly, her arm hit a tree. It took a second, but it came crashing down, humble at her feet. The loud noise did not make her flinch. Animals cried out in surprise, birds flew away.

Gokou was intrigued.

She let out a growl of frustration. It almost even seemed like she was sleepwalking, or floating through it all. She was looking for something, searching about. Mice ran from the trunk of the tree, and a black snake began chasing after its late meal.

His keen Saiya-Jin eyes could make out the scene, but how her weaker eyes had done so was beyond him. She grabbed it. It hissed. With amazing accuracy and force, she had it, and it attempted to protect itself. It writhed in her grasp.

Gokou could have never imagined the scene that was to come.

She tortured it. She tortured it and he watched. Its blood coated her hands, once dainty and white and manicured. She literally tore it apart with her hands. What the creature had done to her was beyond him. Where this strength came from was beyond him. She seemed to be far away, in another state of mind.

She was no longer his prey, she was no longer something that could be pushed about and bullied and that in itself was not a pleasing prospect for him. And yet at the same time, the fierceness in her eyes and in her yell was all together pleasing to him.

To, Bura, however, this was something entirely different. Even her blood seemed to pump through her veins in a different way. Everything had changed. Everything about her felt harder. The china was broken, and it wasn't going to come back. She couldn't ever be delicate and naive and fragile again, and she was aware of that.

The snake had it coming; she felt it in her heart. That was the only possible way to explain how she felt about it. Even though it brought her the greatest comfort she had ever known, she willingly left that nest to find her revenge. The recipient could have been one of the snakes from before. It didn't have to be. It didn't matter. Something tasted her anger, and that was all that mattered. It had it coming. It caused her great pain, and she only entered the forest to discover something beautiful and pure.

Those snakes were not beautiful, they were not pure. They seemed wicked and sinister. That's how she felt, wicked and sinister, in her heart and in her mind.

She knew something was changing.

* * *

-**CL**


	6. Part Six

**Something Wicked**

* * *

_As the sky fell, the crispness in the air added a dull bite to her pale flesh. Her thighs were hot and sticky. The sweat dried, an uncomfortably salty smell reaching her nostrils. Her chest quivered, pacing with her rapid breathing. Her full lips opened wide, her eyes rolled back. He grabbed her hair at the base of her head. Carnage unlocked the darkest part of his soul, as it did hers. He sucked in air until he could wait no longer. And then, she was his. And she kept pace with him this time, dragging her bloodied hands down his chest. Clawing at him, biting at him, sucking on his skin until she tasted the blood of her abductor, the violence with which the pair attacked each other, an appalling display in the mud, of grief and frustration painted crimson blood on the forest floor, which lead to cries of pain and ecstasy which merged together into one animal sound. The natural balance that existed shattered. These world around became silent, as though listening intently to something horrifying and beautiful. _

* * *

He was without a real plan. They were all without a plan, really. He was afraid for his daughter but the idea of his daughter's defilement, constant and at the hands of his greatest enemy, pulled at his chest. Vegeta's anger blinded him. It was a simple and quiet violence to his thoughts, for he preferred to ensure his daughter's continued safety before tearing this fool into shreds. Gokou himself had always been small minded and even with power his lack of direction was Vegeta's only chance to save his daughter. He knew what he would have to do to stop him before it was too late.

"_Is she as good as her mother?" _

He punched the wall before him. Blood gushed from his knuckles. He regarded it with indifference, the pain he felt and the damage he'd caused did nothing. It was his inaction, or his inability to act presently, that destroyed him.

On his home planet, the protection of any royal womb (female) was of the utmost importance. Body guards were always stationed around the princess' quarters, not that he had a huge recollection of his sisters' or very much of anyone except for the men. But he did remember conversations with his father, when he wasn't drunk off of chemicals or his own power.

Of course females wielded little to no political power. Such was the nature of the Saiya-Jins. They believed in the strong ruling, and the more powerful sex dictated it all. This was not to say that the women were weak. In order to survive in Saiya-Jin society, women had to be both stoic and beautiful. If they lacked brains, they were likely to be raped and left to die. If they were clumsy or with heavy footing they were usually sent to the kitchen. But Saiya-Jin princesses were said to have kept the essence of the race. He'd seen a very familiar defiance in his daughter, but ultimately he always chose to believe that Bura was just like her mother. It was how human she was that made him love her. She didn't have to live in his world.

Vegeta examined his bloody hand. He closed his eyes. Fresh on his mind was the image of Kakarotto and his daughter. He could almost see the forms of their body. He shivered. The rage quivered a little. He tried to quiet it. But it would be soon that he could make his move. When he felt Bura's ki drop, he went out searching for her. By the time he'd located her in the forest she was naked and horizontal with Kakarotto the next day.

He monitored her constantly now. He always stayed a heartbeat away. He felt more like a silent observer than her guardian. He wasn't protecting her or the Saiya-Jin way. He would have to kill his own grandchild if it had Kakarotto's rotten genes in it.

Kakarotto's war, at this point, mostly was waged against an impression people had. It was fought against another person that'd had control over his body for decades and decided to use it with disgustingly noble intentions. The simplicity of Gokou's life probably in itself suited Kakarotto. Perhaps that was why ChiChi was alive.

Kakarotto's ultimate aim, by virtue of this, was to honor his true heritage. Or it should have been. But he defied his king and his prince, and the Saiya-Jins were no more. With no example, he was simply a loaded gun. Vegeta would not allow such to be the case much longer.

He was pacing. His breathing seemed to hasten with every step that he took. He could feel his daughter's ki pulsating, in one instant she was exhausted and in another her energy spiked. His stomach was churning. He was living a father's nightmare, forced to feel it, forced to watch.

He heard a twig snap. He turned around to frown at the figure before him.

"My daughter has been kidnapped by your very old friend."

Piccolo seemed solemn when he looked ahead, "This is very grim. Have you looked into why this is happening, Vegeta?"

Vegeta shook his head, "I cannot say. It just seems to be a cross between a vendetta against me and an attempt to prove he's not the weak sapling that we all knew Gokou to be."

The green monster nodded, "I think you're right. I think that this is increasingly becoming more and more about you." His eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" Vegeta scoffed, "That I would sell my own daughter to this maniac? Really, alien, are you stupid or is there some logic behind that idea? What am I getting out of all of this?"

The Namekian expected this treatment. "I just need you to be honest, Vegeta, so that we can fix this and bring back your daughter and Pan. What all has been going on here? "

Truly, his daughter was all he had left.

* * *

The way that she tasted as her lips intoxicated him into oblivion. He licked his lips at the thought of it. Control, it was all he wanted. Domination, it was all he thought about. Pure sex and the things that she did took over his thoughts entirely. Gokou smirked over a thick black lock of hair. She'd barely managed to clean herself up and he already flipped her onto the bed. _Their bed, _he jokingly taunted. She certainly knew how to get his attention. In the pit of his stomach, something quietly purred inside. "We're going to have to discuss your role in our little relationship here, Princess Bra…" He said, teasingly.

He loved the way she looked at him when he started referring to them as a unit. He loved the way that she stretched. He loved the shape and color of her eyes. She gave him some semblance of warmth. How fucking romantic. "You know, we're going to have to discuss this." He said, staring at her darkly, that smile coming across his lips once again.

He grinned at her again, rolling his tongue over her naked body. Sometimes he held her so hard that there were purple marks on her flesh, fingerprints reminding him for hours and days of his ownership of her. "We're going to have to have a talk about you running away from me all of the time."

When it was all over, Bra thought over a million things. But a very black and heavy thought weighed in on top of all of the other ones: she could not stop what had begun. She didn't say a word.

* * *

"It looks like you're going to have more than one person wanting to know something tonight, Vegeta. What's going on?"

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, glancing out towards Chichi. The woman was much older than his, but she moved quickly from the vehicle to the door. Her anxiety was apparent. "I don't know what to tell you." Vegeta shook his head, "He took my daughter. I don't know what randomly brought on this change, and I don't know anything about Pan, but I can tell you that he's killed Goten."

Piccolo's eyes widened. In his shock and disgust he rushed to block Vegeta from leaving. "You're kidding…"

"How do you people claim to have such power and yet you can't find Bra, you didn't notice Gokou's gone mad, and it happened to slip your minds that Goten has _died?" _Chichi asked, voice thick with emotion. Despite himself, Piccolo felt sympathy for the woman, but he did not take his eyes off of stony Vegeta.

"Search for his life energy. He was jealous. Apparently my daughter has an attraction to more than one of them." Vegeta sneered as he spoke the words, his disgust obvious and open for the world to bear witness to.

"It would be more convenient for you if you could control Bura's _attraction_, wouldn't it?"

"Gohan's here as well. Why don't you ask him about what happened to his little brother? I need to see what this is all about." Through grit teeth and with much strain, Vegeta left Piccolo. As he entered his house, he couldn't help but grin.

"ChiChi..." He could hear Bulma talking to the guest. He was more interested in observing Gohan's grieved reaction to the news of his young brother's death. The bitter tears that sprang from the younger man's eyes told all. He could feel Gohan gathering power as the two conspired.

Suddenly, Gohan saw him and began to approach the house. Piccolo slowly disappeared into the darkness, and then all was silent in the yard as though no one had ever been there at all. He would continue to keep an eye on Vegeta, but he also needed to find a way to talk to Goku. There was even the tiniest hint of peace that would not come again for a long time.

"Is this where it happened?" Gohan asked. It essentially was of the greatest importance that Pan die. But no one would believe this, let alone her idiot father. Vegeta knew he would have to take the secret to the grave, or at least keep it until Gohan had proved his worth. He looked up at Gohan, glancing at a photograph of Bra in her room, still disheveled as it had been when Kakarotto plucked her from her bed that evening. He could just blame it on Gokou, too. He would keep his family safe.

"Yes."

"I wonder if they've come back here at all. You know, they always say that they return to the scene of the crime." Gohan looked around, trying to understand. "I haven't spoken to Videl, yet, Vegeta, but I'm pretty sure that Pan's got something to do with this."

Her bedroom was largely the same as it had been. It seemed pink and innocent, and Vegeta felt in himself something like remorse that he'd always hated to be in his daughter's room, it always felt so disgustingly girly. This was the place where his enemy plucked his daughter from her room, interrupting her slumber and dreams of innocent things and darkening her world forever. Vegeta scanned the room, and Gohan could see the pain on his face as he relived the night. Truly, Gokou's touch must have been subtle, and he must have been quick. Clothes on the floor, mostly indicative of a reckless teenaged girl come home and ready to go out. The sign of a little struggle was there, for sure. Nothing significant, though. Nothing about Bra's full-length mirror knocked over or on the unmade bed could have really told the Bra's story that night, or have spoken of Gokou's almost hypnotic power over her. Vegeta watched Gohan survey the room in silence. "Your brother is dead."

"Yes." Gohan ran his thumb over a different picture, "Bura came to see me the other day. Or I ran into her, I guess I should say." It was hard for him to find the words, now that everything was coming together. Why did Bra not say anything? Was she truly that terrified of his father? Son Goku, the man that Gohan had so long known to be so loving and gentle, a source of the young girl's terror and shame? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. And yet Vegeta's face confirmed it all.

Vegeta raised a brow, "What?" His voice was rich with anger and blame.

"She'd passed out. She was attacked by some snakes." Gohan shook his head a little, rubbing his brow as he tried to remember every detail of their time together, "I made her dinner and when I came back in to check on her she was gone. She seemed a little timid, shaken up, you know, but nothing seemed to be _wrong _with her, really-"

Gohan felt himself thrown against Bra's wall, Vegeta's fist tighten around his neck, "_My daughter _has been abducted and repeatedly _raped _and you're telling me that nothing was wrong with her?"

"Vegeta," Gohan said, quickly moving his hand over the shorter man's, "I didn't say that, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

His anger grew, but he released the younger man. Impatient as ever, Vegeta continued, "How did she happen to encounter snakes?"

"I'm not sure, but she was acting weird. I came to see you and instead…" Gohan said, shaking his head again. He removed his glasses, cleaned them, and replaced them.

"Your father is mentally deranged. He's acting like a young Saiya-Jin male going through puberty, and his target is my daughter. He was jealous of your brother, and he killed him. He kidnapped my daughter. I'm sure my daughter was acting fucking 'weird'!"

Gohan cringed. He searched himself for some semblance of evenness and responded slowly, "I just think that maybe we can find a way to help everyone."

"And bring your murdered brother back from the dead."

"You know we can't do that."

"And what if your father does the same to Bra? Will that be alright?"

Gohan sucked in air, "I would love to sit here while you try to convince me to kill my father with you, but I can't do it." He was shaking his head. Even knowing what his father had done to his mother, and his younger brother, and the young princess, he didn't think he had the capacity to destroy him. He needed an explanation. "We need to understand what's going on, before we do anything. Something triggered this, Vegeta!"

"Look," Vegeta shook his head, "Before you're too committed to protecting your father, you should secure your daughter. There's no telling who Kakarotto's next target will be. He's proven he's willing to take life." Vegeta knew that when Gohan found Pan to be dead, it could easily be passed off as Kakarotto's deed. Then it was only a matter of time before Gohan was his to command, and they could overpower the lecherous maniac if they worked together.

It was a huge insult, to have eradicated the last living female with Kakarotto's power in her. Perhaps she would have even had stored in her the secret to Gohan's almost prodigal display of skills during his childhood. Vegeta knew this. Gokou had Bura, Vegeta now had Gohan. His most passive action was soon to become a most wretched problem for both Saiya-Jins.

* * *

"He's not the same. He's not the same as he was before." Chichi sobbed, shaking her head wildly, "I know that I should have never let all of this alien business get so far, and he's gone now. The man that I knew and loved, something has happened to him!"

Bulma patted her friend and offered her water. She was surprisingly patient. "Vegeta is doing what he can."

"But what does Gokou want with Bra? It's just so bizarre. It's not like him. He was frightening, Bulma. And what if Vegeta can't protect Bra from Gokou?"Chichi sighed, continuing, "I knew he'd been so strange. Why was he so nice to me the whole time? I literally suspected nothing Bulma! What type of person am I, that I had no radar that I could sense something like this on?"

Bulma rubbed her head, sitting down. "You want to know what I was doing, when Bura got kidnapped?" She pulled out a cigarette.

Chichi stared at the blue eyed woman through her tears.

"I had a 'late night' at work." Bulma flicked ash over to the side, scoffing at herself in digust.

Chichi stared at the woman opposite her, "Bulma, no... Why would you do that? I thought you loved Vegeta?"

Bulma burst into tears, "Before all of this happened," She choked a little bit, "I'd just been thinking a lot, you know?" Wiped her face, "I just feel like he and I have had a really great relationship for so long, but sometimes he gets so caught up in training that I never see my husband. I don't know... Yamucha and I have such a history and it's easy sometimes to..."

"You're kidding." Chichi stared at her, eyes wide open. "Well, have you spoken to Vegeta? This is only a one-time thing, right?"

"Of course it is!" Bulma hissed, indignantly, "But no... I could never say anything to him. And what am I going to do, say _Vegeta, I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect Bra with you because my ex-boyfriend was boning me at the office_?"

"How are you going to keep Yamucha from boasting all over town?" Chi asked, wide eyed.

"It's in his job description. Also, you know Vegeta would kill him." Bulma rubbed her head. Both shivered at the idea of another Saiya-Jin's wrath. "I don't want to lose my best friend to all of this. I'm already so heartsick for Bura. She's my little daughter and I don't know what's taking Vegeta so long to make a move!"

"It seems to me that Vegeta's the type that would do something immediate and permanent and violent. It doesn't really make sense that he's just locked himself in the gravity chamber as you've said. Is Gokou that much more powerful than Vegeta?"

Bulma sighed, "I haven't been able to speak with him. I think he just doesn't want Bura to get hurt in the crossfire. He's so paranoid. But I'm so anxious. I'm so, so anxious. I want my daughter back, Chichi."

Guilt and blame, passed around like bread and butter at the family table.

* * *

-**CL**


	7. Score One For the Good Guys

**Something Wicked **

* * *

_The trees whispered amongst themselves, twin tales of gossip and gore. The grass trembled in the breeze, feeling frail and weak. Animals of the forest were stirring, for the morning had come and the stillness of the evening was about to be disturbed once again. The morning sun yawns and slowly creeps up in the sky. Sleepy and groggy, life slowly adjusts to the light of the morning and becomes new and fresh and awake. He's sleeping pretty soundly by her side, a large hand, or paw, draped over her hip. She's remembering how she felt like she was floating the previous night, looking up at the stars twinkling and winking at her, like they held a secret she wasn't supposed to know. The morning comes, like some sort of promise to humanity perpetually kept by a higher being. Dizzy and horrified does she watch her life and body collide. _

* * *

It seemed odd to note at this point that their bed was white. Their bed! Bra shuddered to think the words, and yet she became rather familiar with this new warped arrangement. The sheets were white, the pillows, the comforter, as if testifying to the purity that Son Goku once stood for. "So," She asked very slowly, "What… happened?"

Goku smiled as he rolled over. "To what?" She frowned at his stupid act, and he laughed. "You know, this really is entirely your dad's fault. What's taking him so long to come rescue you?" He asked in a rather taunting voice. "I kind of expected more."

Bra's eyes widened slightly, as if she were ready to jump to Vegeta's defense.

"Don't worry, I mean he killed Pan. Whatever that's supposed to mean," He sourly added.

Yet another gasp in horror emitted from Bra's little mouth. Gokou rolled his eyes this time, shaking his head. He wanted to change the subject, as he was pretty disinterested in appalling Bra beyond any reasonably necessary amount. He did smile big inside as she digested the idea that her father would retaliate in such a way.

Bra wondered if she should tell him about Gohan at all. She smiled just a little bit at the memory of someone kind taking care of her. Goku's gaze turned very serious and dark when her thoughts noticeably floated way. "I know, imagine! I've fucked you how many times and all he can do is go attack Gohan's little girl. Your dad can be such a monster, Bra." He tsked a little bit, smile plastered on his face once more, "I don't really know how you tolerate it."

"I don't believe you!" She hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. He shook his head a little bit.

"You have such an issue deciding if you despise me or adore me, you know." Goku shook his head. Bra glared at him, standing up. He was amused to see she didn't seem to care that much that she was naked in front of him. "Wherever are you going?" He asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched her.

"I can't stand you!"

"Maybe so," he said, "but soon you will scream my name in pleasure." She could never tell which trick he used to end up in front of her, but he lifted her under her arms as if she were a doll and tossed her casually against the wall. She coughed upon impact, but stood easily.

In her rage, Bra tried to summon all the power she could. He, of course, thought it was precious. "Don't do that," He said, shaking his head at her, "It will only make this worse."

She didn't care. As she ignored him, Bra felt her hair lift just slightly at the wind of her power. He crossed his arms over his chest, allowing her to do it, almost willing her to find the strength to do battle with him. Suddenly, the girl rushed forward with a fist coming towards his jaw. Lightly, he caught it. He didn't blink, he didn't flinch, nothing.

It wasn't like she wasn't aware of the fact that it was a losing battle, but she felt like _something _needed to be done. On that, Goku was right. Her father wasn't doing anything, Goku wasn't doing much for that matter either, and she began to taste the futility that everyone else was sipping on like wine.

His voice was soft when he addressed her again, his grasp over her fist going from hard and firm and painful to gentle. His thumb moved over the back of her hand, stroking it, and she shivered as she tried to retract her arm. He shook his head. "You know, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have to teach you some better techniques than that. Did your _Daddy _teach you how to throw that punch, or did he abandon you altogether?" He smiled, pulling her close to him such that their noses almost touched. "Don't you think it speaks to how much he really cared about you, that he didn't even bother to train you?"

"My father's going to come here and _kill _you and then we'll see about all of this!" Bra hissed harshly.

Of course, like it always did, his grin only got wider. "Keep resisting me, Bra, it only excites me more. Be a good girl, try to throw another punch at me. I won't block it this time."

True to his word, he took a step back and released her hand. "Do it." He said in a firm voice. Without thinking she launched a series of attacks on his body, and even though he didn't move to block a single one of them, he only kind of grunted as he took the bulk of her wrath. She was further along than he'd thought. "That's enough," he said, abruptly, grabbing her by the leg and throwing her back onto the bed. So often did he do that these days, just grab something and throw her.

"Always remember this moment, Little Bra, as the time that you tried your hardest to fight back against me and all I did was laugh at you."

Rage boiling inside of her, Bra did something for once that he hadn't expected. She slapped him hard and cold right on the face. He even lost his footing a little bit and started to fall back, but incited with a puffy red cheek, Goku flew back at her with a firm hand over her face. "Geez, Bra, that really **hurt!**" Bra cried out in pain, music to his ears. When she removed her hand from her purpling cheek, he smiled to see a little dribble of blood running from her lip.

He leaned forward and sucked on it just a little bit. Bra squirmed uncomfortably under him, even lifting her knee to catch him in the groin, but his hands were on her knees, massive and squeezing her kneecaps hard. She was forced to let out a gasp in pain and he indulged himself further.

"You know I wouldn't have to play so hard if you would just behave." He said, shaking his head a little bit at her. "Are you going to be good?"

She shook her head against him but he released her. Truthfully, it only made it more fun for him when she refused him anyway. His hands were on her hips. He knew just what to do.

His lips on her abdomen, and then her thighs, and finally his tongue darted between her legs. He sighed in ecstasy at the scent of her sex. Bra hated Goku for making her legs quiver and her eyes flutter back. The worst thing he could have possibly done was give her pleasure. She betrayed her father, she betrayed herself, and she cared a little less every time.

* * *

Gokou grinned. "Sweet, innocent, _ripe _Bura. Your daughter, she's so delicious. I just don't know what to do with myself when I'm around her." A hand to his chest, he pulled out what Vegeta instantly recognized as one of Bra's little trinkets.

Vegeta realized the importance of showing no emotion. "What is it you want, Kakarotto? Have you come because you have a death wish?"

"I waited, for a while, until I could have her all to myself." Goku offered in response.

Vegeta glared.

"You know the problem is that she me fought a little bit earlier, and I had to kind of put her in her place. But then there was just the littlest bit of blood that was dribbling down her bottom lip. _God_, it tasted so good." He sighed emphatically, looking up into the sky.

The Saiya-Jin prince's eyebrow twitches in response. Gokou grins, knowing he has him right where he wants him.

"I could have spent all night licking and sucking on her." Wide, wide smile, he is a caricature of a good man these days. He came, of course, just to taunt his enemy. As the sun was setting he cocked his head over to the side. "You must be so lonely, Vegeta. I hear Bulma's been rather inattentive these days. I almost feel bad, that I'm basking in this endless pleasure and _your wife's _off somewhere reeking of wine and cigarettes and ex-boyfriends. It must be so pathetic to be you."

"Let her **go!**" Vegeta finally barks, clinching his fist as he takes a menacing step towards Son Goku. This is, of course, only pleasing.

Goku feels at home. He's gotten the exact response he wanted, as he always seemed to do, "I don't think I will."

Sweat trickles down Vegeta's brow. His glare is murderous. He loses his vision for an instant. He knows now they must do battle. With a final cry, he launches an attack on Gokou. But he knows he must survive in order for his plan to work. It is a matter of time. He would have the last laugh. The Saiya-Jin prince did not take well to being made into a joke.

* * *

'_Regarding Son Gokou, and by extension, me.' _Her stomach hurt. She shook her head, mind still reeling in pleasure and disgust and shame. She never wanted to sleep with someone again. What was an orgasm if it was given to you by the man that just wanted to taunt and kill her father? **Some kind of weakness she must have had, to allow all of this to happen!**

It all started with a mirror. Or, wait.

See? She's already messed it up.

Let's start over.

It all started with a boy.

Surprisingly, it was not her father. The very first image that pops into her head is that of her brother's smiling face. He waves to her, wraps his arms around her, adores her entirely. He is so near her age and yet so far away from her. He understood the conundrum of youth, the struggle against their parents, and mischievousness. He understood _her._

So of course after he left, she looked for the replacement. If a man were to be in her life, he had big shoes to fill.

Wait. She pauses. You've gone and messed it up again, Bra!

Begin again.

It all started with this _other _boy. He smiled at her wide and his eyes were black and warm and infinite. His hair was soft and spiky, always kept in a wild shape no matter how often he cut it short. He would tell her dirty jokes and tease her behind her brother's back. He would act like she was special.

No, that's not right.

Maybe it started with the boy that took her virginity, the one she didn't love or know very long or really date. She had sex with him and it was over a week later. Her heart was sore when she acknowledged that she had been taken advantage of, but she never admitted to it.

Stop…

It could have started with an adult, after all, a dark one stalking the halls of her house, always seeming irritated or annoyed with something or another. And when she would toddle down the hallways and see him, her eyes would blink real wide and cute and he would look down at her and something about him would very, very slowly soften. And she would lift her arms up and sort of flex her knees up and down and he would look from side to side, as if he were waiting for someone to come around the corner and ashamed of his affection, then lift her into his arms.

It didn't matter where they were going, it only mattered that he was taking her somewhere.

Bra shook her head, trying to wring the thoughts out. Something very raspy inside of her thought, "_He hates you! He's ashamed of you! …Where is he?" _

"I don't want to think about anything right now!" Bra said, grabbing a hold of her head. When she looked up, she was staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes widened and she shrieked in horror when her reflection smirked at her. Then her eyes darted to a tattoo, blood red, of a snake on her arm in the reflection that didn't exist. The reflection winked, and the snake began to slither up off of her arm onto her shoulder.

Bra thought she was finally going mad. It's called trauma, you know. She looked at her shoulder, her _real _shoulder, and there was nothing but bruised flesh looking back at her. But when she looked in the mirror, her reflection laughed and waved at her and the snake bobbed its head to the left and then the right, watching her.

"What _is _this?" Bra asked, leaning forward a little bit to touch the mirror. Her reflection slowly turned to normal, all except for the ruby snake sitting on her reflection's left shoulder.

"_I am ssssomething wicked."_

* * *

_Her hips were swaying in time. He was sitting down on something but what seemed fairly unimportant. Was it a couch, old and warm and inviting? Perhaps he was sitting on the corner of a bed, ready to keep their darkest secrets. Conceivably it could have been an old wooden chair, ready to rock and creak at their weight. _

_She hiked up her skirt, or her dress, whichever it was. It was red like her blood, like her fingernails and cheeks and lips. It felt as though the world about the pair was melting and the only way to stop it was to stop resisting the almost gravitational pull he had. She didn't understand his appeal entirely, and to some extent this was alright. She didn't need to understand his appeal. She only understood that he had appeal, and that there was something very electric running down her body from the pit of her abdomen to between her legs. _

_Faintly it occurs to her that the most shocking thing about him is that he seems to have changed so discreetly. His clothes are the same, his smile isn't crooked. He's pleasant, almost, and he jokes so lightly about the murders he's committed. _

"_Are you only here because you hate my dad?" She asks, looking seriously down at him, but already her hands are on the back of his neck, already they are trailing up and down the muscle and skin and back up again to his hair. He's watching her almost intently, willing her to adore him absolutely. "Tell me you don't love me. Tell me you're only here to do one over on good old Vegeta. Tell me that you just want to screw my Daddy up more than he's already been." _

_He says nothing, but his hand is on the small of her back, firmly holding her to him. Action in place of words, their tongues roll around together. She savors the taste of him and loathes herself entirely for her appreciation of him. She resents her body's anticipation of his entrance, and the way that this time she instigated it. She feels fragmented, _this is the part of me that wants you, this is the part of me that hates myself for it, this is the part of me that hates you, this is the part of me that is spiraling out of control.

_How can we stop what has begun? _

_Goku calls her name. It's forceful and he looks serious for the first time in a while. _

"_I'm dreaming," She mumbles again._

"_Bra!" Gokou shouts, clinching his fist. He looks menacing, threatening, as he had that night. She was afraid for a moment, but when she looked about she understood that this time the cage was of her own creation. Nightmare concocted in her mind, as if punishing her for her old ways. _

"_I'm dreaming." She says, and as if it were plastic and foam, the setting crashes and falls and Bra Briefs walks away. Or, really she floats. You're always so weightless and smooth in movement and thought in dreams. _

"_Goten!" She shouts. She cups her mouth with her hands so he can hear her call. His name is hoarse in her throat. She feels helpless. Bra runs around the desolate city, and when she cocks her head to the left she sees her room, and when she turns to the right she sees her father's gravity chamber. It's as though someone took a knife and separated the most relevant spaces in her life. _

_In defeat and denial does she turn, throwing her arms up in the air, breathing in and out and trying to calm herself and soothe the thumping in her chest, "This is a dream, this is a dream, I know I'm dreaming, so why can't I see him? Why can't I make him come back?" _

_Goku is standing there, arms crossed over his chest, watching her. His eyes are like black diamonds, all shiny and cold. A black snake slithers about his feet, circling his leg and making its way up. Gokou just stands there, indifferent to the beast , and he is watching her with the most unfaltering gaze that she feels small, and trapped, and like there is no escape. _

* * *

Something inside of Vegeta is screaming so very viscously that he will make his enemy pay him back in blood. He looked down at her form, and then back up. "You did a good job." He is barely standing, blood dribbling from his lip and a gash in his arm. It's smeared all over his face, under his eye. "We need to hurry."

'_Huh?'_

Bra found herself slowly easing her eyes open. She was in somewhere entirely different. She felt she was strapped down into something, and as she slowly looked around, her eyes widened.

Bra found herself looking into her father's black eyes. "Daddy…"

"Not now, Bra." Vegeta was saying, shaking his head but never once bothering to look over at her, and with a frantic hand she hadn't ever see her father possess before he was typing coordinates on the pad. Her father, sweat on his brow as he looked intently on at the screen. The machine began whirring and whining and complaining until in one loud burst of sound that took Bra's breath away and even made Vegeta sway back a little, she felt the entire room lift.

'_I won't let him tear you apart. I won't allow this to continue happening.' _Vegeta would protect her, at all costs. He would do whatever was necessary to protect his daughter. He would take a beating, he would die, and he would travel to the ends of the universe to hide her like a gem meant to be untouched by a mortal being. As Bra looked around, it was apparent she was in a spaceship and it was launching. Everything would be taken care of. Everything would be right again soon.

She cocked her head to the side just slightly, and was shocked when her reflection in the glass was smiling at her with dark eyes and a snake's eyes glinting just over her shoulder in the darkness of what was quickly becoming space.

_I am ssssomething wicked. I am you. _

* * *

_-_**CL **


	8. The Interlude

**Space **

It is blank.

Blank like me.

For this, I find it to be enigmatic.

(And these are the things that plague my mind,

In the dark,

At night,

In the most solemn spots of space.)

I take it to be menacing in its glory

And, by extension of these things,

Empty in its beauty,

Infinite in its depth,

It is—rather simply, it exists.

(And I am confused)

The stars are nothing now.

(And I feel my mouth open, screaming, "What the Hell is going on here?" )

_There really were no diamonds in the sky after all… _

**Something Wicked**

Bra Briefs opens her eyes and tries to assess the situation at hand. It is, however, apparent to everyone but her that she has no control over what's going on, so she ought to not bother her (allegedly) pretty little head with it. The trouble seems to be that whatever has manifest itself in Son Gokou has only just begun to reveal its very sharp teeth. The trouble is that something dark within herself, perhaps previously existing?, or some new foe?, even maybe some science project?, whatever it is, whatever it was, it is here and she wonders as she scratches her head if it is here to stay.

So she bites her lip, sucking on the tender bump where the skin split from when Gokou slapped her however long ago. The flesh is now covered with a huge brown scab. She bites it, ripping the hard, dead skin away from her lip. She shivers with pleasure as she suckles the little dribble of blood just beginning to flow out.

There was only a window for her to look out of. So she watched the empty space, and thought about how soft the abyss looked, and how stunning the stars, and she waited because she assumed that's what she was supposed to do.

She tried to picture her father coming in, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks her over. He would be a soldier taking inventory, of course, she expected that he would look upon her rather indifferently. Her heart sank, even in her mind she could not see her stern father wrapping his arms around her and telling he that he knew, he knows, that she has been taken by a man. She could not see him acknowledge the deeds done, and then she could not hear him say that she would be alright, or even end up well, for it.

Soon she could hear voices. This is how she discovered the door. It was so black there, in the room that she slept in and then awoke to find the huge glass window which allowed her to peer out into space, dazed, uncertain. She moved too quickly towards the voices, and the door flung itself up, giving her access to a whole new world. She almost fell over when light pooled into the room. She hissed. The voices hushed. Then, footsteps.

She wanted to see her father, mostly to yell at him, for taking so long to rescue her, and then for taking her away. She was just starting to understand her place in the world, right by Son Gokou's twisted side, and heart, apparently, and then again she felt wrenched from a somewhat steady home.

Her brother sighed when he saw her, for she must have been quite a sight. Immediately he starts petting her hair away from her face, "What did he do to you," Trunks is muttering, "What the Hell is happening…"

Bra wants to speak, but she can't find her voice. Bra is confused, and she frowns at the concern on her face. What did he do to you? Who did Trunks mean to denote with the word 'he'? The boy that took advantage of her the first time they had sex? Or perhaps Trunks was talking about Goten that broke her heart because he was too old and cool to be with her, but not really, but maybe, so she dated guys that were his age and older, just to prove that she could, and then when inevitably she grew bored of them, and they cheated on her, or fucked her and never called her again, she slowly turned back to the attentions of the boys her own age.

Like the boy that Gokou had killed. What was his name? Was she crying over him? Is it still winter?

No, dear, it's past spring. You were gone for such a very long time, and asleep for what felt like even longer.

"Who are you talking to?" Trunks asked, again with the concern on his face. Bra frowns. They call it trauma, or something, she caught it, she was sure of it, because she knew she was being spoken to but she was incapable of responding and she wasn't just doing it to be difficult this time.

No, dear, it's past spring, and many things have grown inside of you, and outside of you, and you must reap what you have sown.

"What does that mean?" Bra hears her own voice begin to shake. She said the words entirely too loudly. She becomes dizzy. Without meaning to she collapses and begins to bawl. Her brother carries her back to her quarters, and when he enters the room the light comes on, not so very overwhelming as the light from the corridor and Bra wonders why she felt like she had to be alone in the dark before.

She can feel her father looming about, and she also wants to demand to see him, but the larger question at hand is why he has not yet made his presence known to her. Not a concerned hand on her cheek, not a meal, could he give her no affection, when it was his fault, when Son Gokou had used her as a tool with which he could torment that old foe Vegeta?

Trunks is speaking to her, saying that she has been through a lot and very much is going on. He's telling her to try to remain calm, he's making promises that she doesn't think that he can keep.

Bra feels uneasy. Bra wonders how this can end, when so much sorrow is to be had, when such awful things have happened, how could anything be repaired?

* * *

"You didn't have to kill Pan, you know." Trunks practically sneered it at him. He said it with disgust. He said it with hatred. Vegeta waved a hand at him, dismissing the matter too lightly for Trunks' taste, and the younger man crosses his arms over his chest.

"I did what I did for a variety of reasons, and you will not question me right now." Vegeta speaks with the restrained fury that Trunks has grown accustomed to. Something in his father was changing and becoming slightly more menacing. Vegeta smolders in the darkness now, waiting for an opportunity to become strong enough to destroy his foe.

"I am your only ally now." Trunks points to himself, he jabs himself in the chest with a sharp finger, "Me! Just me! Why did you have to go and piss Gohan off like that? Now you know the both of them are going to be chasing after us all across the universe. We can't hide! We can't do anything but float and wait for Gokou to-"

"Kakarotto will follow us, and I am surprised that he has not yet found a way to use his adorable little instantaneous movement trick to slip into our quarters."

"Why didn't you bring Mom with us?" He demands.

"Do you want another woman to be harmed? Has there not already been enough of that, you want to harass me about the innocent, and then you babble at me about that damned woman's scientific expertise? Kakarotto has not made his presence known because he cannot immediately get to Bura. Kakarotto is smarter than he was, but not by much. Your mother is useless to us now; she would be in the way."

"She could have helped us."

"Exactly in the same way that you presume that Kakarotto's living son could have helped us?"

"I don't understand why you need to do everything alone, Father!"

"I am not doing anything alone." Vegeta glares at his son. The words were not spoken quietly or softly, but they were also not uttered loudly either. He enunciated each syllable with a clinical, calculating severity that immediately Trunks understood. He was now, and finally, a comrade. Trunks feels a rush of pride, that he was the only one Vegeta felt that he could trust, and then another chill, dread at what was to come, followed.

* * *

Gokou crossed his arms over his chest. He sneers. "Look at them, just floating about aimlessly in space. What did he think he was doing? Did he really think he could move more quickly than I? Did he really think that he would be able to hide her from me? In space, on Earth, in Heaven, I will always defeat him."

Gokou looks to his left. Gohan is passed out on the debris of his father's most recent temper tantrum. He is muttering in his sleep. Gokou sends a swift kick to his gut. Gohan flies a few feet in the air and begins speaking again.

"She will kill your wife, and take my mother's place."

Gokou looks over to turn his nose up at his son, but Gohan appears to be asleep. "What the Hell do I care what the little vixen does with ChiChi?"

"She will mate with the strongest among you."

"I know, that's me." Gokou points a finger at himself and smiles. "You know, you were always my favorite son. This is why you're unconscious and rambling and not dead right now. But I think you're pretty funny, Gohan," Gokou chuckles, "in a way I never had before." He swats the boy away again. In truth, Gokou is mostly impressed with his son's resilience. The same moves took his younger son's life. Gohan begins to speak again, more slowly than before.

"She will be an unstoppable fury, a force that even he cannot contain, if you do not seek to pacify her rage and hurt and confusion immediately."

Gokou nudges Gohan with his foot, an eyebrow cocked"It's time we've had a little quality time, son, wake up now, and tell me what you're babbling about."

"I have sipped from the same cup of the highest God. I have shared life force with the most sacred of the Nameks. My power shall be unlimited, as infinitely good as you are now wicked. You ought to kill me now."

Gohan sits up. Gokou's smile is huge.

"Father, you ought to kill me now."

* * *

ChiChi and Bulma were in a constant state of unrest, coming to terms with Goten's nonexistence and searching for a dead Pan. ChiChi wiped her eyes, "Why can't we use the Dragonballs to just bring them back?"

"Gokou said that King Kai said that something really awful would happen if we continued to use the Dragon."

"That doesn't make any sense. The Dragon has existed forever, since Piccolo came to this planet and created them. And then they were recreated."

"Gokou said-"

"Gokou is not well!" ChiChi shouts this, and her fists are balled. She is ready to fight with Bulma, but Bulma stares at her wide-eyed with a cigarette drooping from her bottom lip.

"I just don't want to take any chances. Especially with Gokou as he is. Let's figure this out before anyone gets hurt, and then we can wish everyone back when things are better."

"Goten and Pan are strong! They can help us fight them!" ChiChi does not realize it, but she has already begun to speak as if Pan were dead. She can sense these things, you know. Her heart is broken. There is sweat on her brow. There are tears in her eyes.

"Goten and Pan are gone and dead right now because Gokou is much stronger than they are. If Pan is out there, she's probably hiding from Gokou, and Goten… we'll find a way to wish them back, Chi, you know that I will not stand for it. But we have to wait. We have to be patient now."

"Vegeta is gone, Piccolo is gone, Gohan is gone, Gokou is gone, everyone is gone and they're all fighting and we can't do anything about it!"

Bulma crossed her arms around her chest. She closes her eyes. She wants to think of something ingenious, to calm her friend down and to triumph over the darkness looming above them all. "We will just have to try to figure out a plan. We need to go to my lab. First things first, when did you start noticing changes in Goku? It could have been anything, anything at all…"

* * *

_Gokou told me to tell you that I wanted to go with him, but I didn't want to go with him. Okay, at first, before I knew who he was, and after I was done being afraid of the dark stranger in my room, I kind of wanted to go with him. But I kind of thought that none of it was real and I made it all up. Or that I was sleeping, or something. But then you showed up, and you tried to defend me, and he told me he would kill you and I saw fear in your eyes for the first time since I was little. Do you remember that time, Daddy? I was so little. I was wearing the red frilly dress. And I ran. I ran after Trunks and Goten, because they pulled my hair and I was so angry with them! I didn't know what I was going to do with them when I caught them, kind of like the snakes, but I just knew that I needed to catch them, to make the wrong right or at least to return the favor. And you sort of loomed about, you never got too close, probably because it wasn't cool to look after your four year old daughter or something like that, but you were watching me and I was running so fast! And then Goten and Trunks laughed and they took off in the air and I was so surprised that they could fly! I shouted, I looked back at you, I only turned my head away for a moment, but I thought you ought to know, I just wanted to tell you, that they were flying and I could not. That's when I tripped. That's when I saw fear in your eyes. And all you had to do was increase your speed and just before my palm touched the gravel you were there, holding me, just as hard but not as rough, and I knew I was safe. I was afraid too, for myself, but not so afraid as you looked then. That was when I decided you never wanted me to get hurt, ever. And when I skinned my knee for the first time just a year later, I was hurt when you were indifferent to the little scrape, the little bit of visible blood. And when I was at Son Gokou's side that evening, and he said he would hurt you if I didn't go with him, I could not think to do anything but protect you as you had me. All I had to do was say the word, all I had to do was pretend to consent, and off we went, away from you. The problem is I want you to protect me. The problem is I needed you to have protected me. Why did you not follow? Where are you now?_

Bra Briefs takes in a deep breath. Bra Briefs is taking it all one day at a time now. Sometimes she has some pretty crazy thoughts, and then others are dauntingly normal. Bra Briefs is kind of having a hard time figuring it all out right now, and she would really very badly like for her father to explain what in the Hell is going on here.

* * *

**-GB**


End file.
